Jennifer, Im sorry but off the top of my head I cant think of any patients who have had surgery after rads for tonsil HPV+ cancer. Maybe its due to it being HPV+??? I really cant even guess as to why over the years Ive seen all the patients here (regardless of stage) have surgery prior to rads as rads may not be necessary. I suggest finding a comprehensive cancer center (CCC) and going for at the very least a second opinion. By doing surgery later the patient will have problems with recovering in the area that had radiation. Dont rush into a plan too quickly, you need to get the right plan so this cancer is eliminated once and for good.

Check out the NCI and the NCCN website about their treatment options info. You may have to join the sites but its great learning all the info so you can better understand how things should go.

NCCN head and neck cancer treatment

NCI treatment for head and neck cancer