Thanks for the response Paul. Greatly appreciated. The doctors explained I needed 2.5 to 3 months waiting period for the PET scan so the radiated areas no longer show up as "hot" similar to cancer activity. Pretty much just as you said. The insurance company has pushed it out to 3 months.

I had a specialist do a biopsy on the lump in my neck (lymph node) prior to my diagnosis and I believe I heard him say something about squamous cells when he finally called me back with the results and punted me to a surgeon. He certainly didn't use the word CANCER. I am real estate appraiser and had no idea what the heck squamous cell meant. You can imagine my reaction when I went to see the surgeon and he was in a cancer center. I was under the impression I had a benign bronchial cleft cyst.

I did pretty good with my weight during treatment but have slowly been losing ground. I am 5'10 and was 190. I am just under 165 now. You are definitely the champ at 110 lbs!! I look forward to eating like I look forward to doing my taxes. It's a chore and there is nothing enjoyable about it. I do have the 530 calorie drinks that I would use in my feeding tube left over but have only been taking 1 or 2 a day. In talking to you and Christine I am starting to realize that I may be acting in a self destructive way with the eating. I am just tired of being sick. In 2013 I was diagnosed with Hep C and spent 11 months on the interferon treatments. That was a year of feeling like hell and now I am back in the soup again.

My radiologist tested me for HPV at the onset and tests came back negative. Funny thing, the doctor said he would tend to disagree with the test results. I know the odds are a lot better with an HPV diagnosis.

Thanks for info and giving me the opportunity to rant. My wife of 40 years is my caretaker and she is a saint. I am painfully aware of how this impacts her and don't want to unload on her. Speaking with all of you has been real helpful.

Thanks

Ed