I have stage 1 oropharyngeal cancer and am just through with 30 IMRT treatments as of july 5th. I go back to my ENT Aug. 30th for another petscan and a checkup. The lymphnode did not go away and have a neck dissection scheduled for Sept. 16th. The doctors took out my tonsils first to find the primary but that came back negative. A petscan turned up the primary below where the tonsils were but just above the epiglottis. I was 40 when diagnosed and have three great kids and a wonderful wife. I am somewhat worried about the dissection and of course recurrence. I have never had surgery before the tonsils. would like to know what to expect after the neck dissection. sorry for the rambling but this is my first time in a chat room of any kind.