I have a question that has baffled me for awhile. If someone doesn't have a neck dissection or has one AFTER radiation, then how do they know if they had any positive lymph nodes? Also, do the majority of oral cancer patients have positive lymphnodes??

Hi Minniea,
I'm not an expert at who has lymph node involment and who doesn't.
In my case I had a T3NOMO with no lymph node tested positive. Dumb luck I guess because I had a tumor growing for at least 6 months. I had a neck disection and am going thru radiation right now, Good luck to you, Dan

Minniea,
I believe that lymph nodes in the neck are diagnosed initially by CT scan. In my case after radiation treatments were finished the doctor was still concerned about one neck node after looking at another CT scan. I was then sent to the radiologist who performed a needle biopsy on the neck ( a very simple procedure ) and looked at an ultrasound. In my case this was enough to decide that I did not require a neck dissection.

Danny G.

Hello, My husband didn't know he had tonsil cancer until a node enlarged on his jawline.
A needle biopsy told what kind of cancer.
He had a neck dissection and 3 were positive and fairly large, the largest was deeper in the neck and not seen or felt by palpatation. One of his nodes was sitting on the carotid atery and they could not tell if it was penetrating it or wrapping around it, the CT Scan couldn't tell and My husband has Metal in his body so no MRI for him.. He found out he had tonsil cancer on a Thursday and had surgery 4 days later.

Hi Minnea,
As many answers as there are people here! My lymph nodes looked clean on MRI but neck dissection proved that they were! See? Quite the variety! The thing we have in common, though, is that we are all here for you and each other.
Love and God bless,
Judy U

In my case. I did not have any surgery at all but the initial needle biopsy of the lympn nodes during the untrasound scan could already tell they were cancerous. Subsequent MRI and CT scan gave further and more accurate information about the size and location.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.

Thanks for all the answers, seems like while we all suffer the same type of cancer, no two cases are the same. I had one lymph node positive out of 17 on the left side of my neck. I had a neck dissection along with having my jaw removed. 6 weeks of radiation followed that. The lymph node thing bothered me so much until I read this board and saw how many people had lymph node involvement and are doing fine. Take care everyone.