How fast does this BOT SCC grow???
Diagnosed Sept 1, I've been to the whole battery of Dr's. Have found new surgeon he wants to do another larangoscopy and examine the tumor himself to determine the exact size and location before he presents me with his recommendation for a path to follow. It all takes time though and the soonest he can fit me into his schedule is 2 more weeks. This guy is supposed to be one of the top three surgeons for this specific cancer in the state of AZ. I hung out in his waiting room for an hour just to talk to some of his other patients who are in the recovery stage after surgery and all of them swear; this guys the one you want when your in my position.
Should I be overly concerned about the delay?

Ronnie,
If this doctor is know to be one of the best, then it seems like you can trust his judgement on time frame, assuming he knows how long ago you were diagnosed.

I know that my husband was told that his tonsil cancer had probably been developing for 1 1/2 to 2 years before it was diagnosed, so it doesn't seem like two weeks would make that much difference, but I guess it depends on how aggressive your particular form is.

Best,
Anita

Ronnie --

My husband was diagnosed with SCC BOT and right tonsil (and two nodes) in June of this year and just finished treatment. However, a year ago he had a neck abcess (which we now know was due to the cancer) and at the time, had an incision and drainage under rather emergency conditions. A series of CT scans were done prior to this surgery and when these were compared to the CT series done just prior to his June tonsil surgery, when he was diagnosed, the doctors at Hopkins (and also, Sloan-Kettering) noted there had been almost no growth, less than 5%. Our medical oncologist confirmed that this is generally a fairly slow-growing cancer (there are exceptions, however!) so you are probably safe in waiting the two weeks.

Be sure to get a second opinion (hence our trip to Sloan-Kettering) as the three top CCCs (Sloan, M.D. Anderson, Hopkins) treat BOT tumors with chemoradiation, and not surgery (due to side-effects) Barry had his cancerous tonsil removed down to connective tissue but the surgeon would not touch the BOT area.

So you need to consult with a medical and radiation oncologist before you make a final treatment decision. Having said that, chemoradiation is no walk in the park either but my husband is doing quite well only 2 weeks out (despite a couple of set-backs with infections) and at Hopkins they are getting very good results with this approach, even with advanced stages.

Be sure to ask the hard questions with everyone with whom you consult...

Good luck,
Gail

Ronnie,

When I was diagnosed, my oncologist informed me that it was a slow growing cancer. But the sooner you can have it taken care of the better.

Tami's Mom
(Susan)

Hi Ronnie,

I've become really cautious as a result of my experience. When my mom's cancer was finally diagnosed, we were told it was "superficial". The doc went so far as to say "go on vacation and enjoy your life". Being a bit of a skeptic, I took her to a teaching hospital for another opinion. The upshot was that she really had Stage IV SCC. She asked the new doc if it would be okay to return in a couple of months after her vacation. He strongly urged her to begin treatment as soon as possible. We too had to wait a couple of weeks due to scheduling and preparations, but
they assured me that would be okay. From a treatment outcome standpoint, they kept their word. Admittedly, those were a long two weeks and I kept thinking we should start NOW. Nonetheless, my attitude remains the same: start sooner than later. All my best.

Dave

Ronnie,
From what my ENT has told me is you cannot 100% pedict what cancer or types will do. It treats everyone differently as well as side effects from treatment.

I have been blessed with my ENt he has been very informative and showed his concern during the whole treatment. When I first went to him with my scans he wanted to be definately sure what he was dealing with so he encouraged a biopsy. of course with everyone's schedule it was about a week and a half before he could do this and then back to the office to find out about 5 days later.

After the biopsy and finding out it was SCC appointments were schedule the next week witht he rad and onc doctors and then the rush to get started!

You will be fine. 2 weeks is okay better than months!!
Take care and do not add more worry to what you do not need to.
Love
Terry