My husband is being treated for tonsil cancer with metastasis to a same sided lymph node. He will have completed his course of chemo & radiation in one week.The tumor on the tonsill is completely gone at this point. The doctor plans to do a surgical biopsy on the lymph node to make certain that it is clean. We agree with this plan of action. It will be very reassuring if all is clean. However, I am just wondering if any of you out there that have had similar surgery can tell us what to expect. I love this site and I wish you all the very best of luck. Thanks LM

Elem510, I'm not sure how they will handle it but I can tell you about mine. I had stage 2 cancer of my tongue, left side and stage 2 cancer on the floor of my mouth right. Because of the tumor on the floor of my mouth they did a radical neck disection. Low and behold while they were there they removed all of my lymph nodes on that side. They then stretched the skin all the way back to my ear on the other side and removed all of the nodes from there. It seems that every surgeon/ specialist has there own way of doing things. Lady Luck was on my side, I had no cancer in my lymph nodes and consequently no chemo or rad. They rebuilt the floor of my mouth with skin taken from my shoulder, I also lost my teeth on that side and part of my jaw bone. They also took about 1/3 of my tongue. The weirdest thing for me is that my tongue is sewn to the bottom of my mouth, so I don't have a whole lot of movement. Anyway, hope all goes well. Check some back posts you may find some more information. Good luck to both you and your husband. Take care. Anne.

I had a very similar situation, tonsil primary but with bilateral metastasis to the cervical nodes. After a full course of radiation I had a modified radical neck dissection of the same side as the primary. Biopsy of those removed nodes found no cancer present, but in retrospect I am still glad they did the neck dissection to be sure. I am now 4 years out with only a few problems, all related to the radiation, not the surgery. I am curious if your husband was a smoker. The reason I ask, is there is mounting evidence that those of us that were not, and perhaps got this cancer as a result of HPV, mostly get the cancer in the tonsilar area.

Dear Brian,
Thanks for your reply. Sorry to report my husband was a smoker for many years, but he did quit two years before his diagnosis. He was also a pretty heavy beer drinker. Two strikes against him. But he certainly has a new outlook on thosse two past times. LM

elem510,

I also have tonsil cancer and quit smoking 1 1/2 year before we found it. By accident. Minor out patient surgery to remove a benign lymph node behin the ear that kept getting infected. During the surgery the doctor found the a tumor around my carotid artery. He removed that then we went back 2 weeks later for a radical neck disection to find the cancer site. Nothing showed on CT Scans. This was all done before radiation. Yes, they did find the tonsil site, plus more lymph nodes that had tumors.
The surgery was not terrible - the scar is from behind my ear down to my breast bone and up under my chin. I persinally call it my check mark, meaning I must be O.K. the doctor checked me off. My ear is still numb - but gets a little better (surgery Oct.) Can't hold the phone up to it. And I have extreme sensitivity all the way over to my shoulder. But I am very pleased that I can lift my arm and it doesn't seem as if anything was damaged by the surgery.
As a woman I wasn't pleased that I couldn't wear my winter turtle necks - but I'm hopig enough of the sensitivity is gone by this winter to wear them.
Sorry this is so long, but after what your husband has been through already I'm sure he'll handle the surgery wonderfully. I slept in the recliner for a while.
Good for you for being the care giver that you have been, and I'm sure will continue to be.

Take care,
Dinah

Dinah, The numbness in your ear should go away in about a year. The same for the shoulder. The only place I'm still numb is my neck and my tongue and it will be two years in September. The rest is pretty much normal now. Good thoughts to all. Anne.