Hello Everybody,

I have been posting in " Introduce Yourself" in this forum till now. But I hope this section would be of more help to get my questions answered.

My Father had only ultrasonography done as recommended by doctor.

1) The report says
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" Evidence of three upper cervical nodes, Maximum 16 x 7 mm, two lt submadibular nodes 11 x 7 mm each. Two rt mandibular nodes also noted of 14 x 6 mm and 10 x 6 mm.

carotid vessles are normal on both sides

parotid and submandibular salivary glands are normal

Conclusion: U S findings are suggestive of small Lt submandibular and Lt upper cervical nodes."
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I am not sure what this exactly means but what I can read from this is that there were two lt submandibular nodes, and 2 rt mandibular nodes.
But why did the conclusion say only about left?

Also, my father was operated to remove 3 lymph nodes from same side as tumor (left side). Submental (3) and Jugualr nodes (1) were removed.

Does this suggest that only left side nodes were effected? How did Dr. decide to remove 3 nodes ?

Please take some time out to reply. Thanks,

Krishna

Mr. Brian Hill,

Could you please respond to my message.

Thanks,

Nav

I can't offer you much help. Ultrasound as a diagnostic tool is great in the carotid issues that develop as part of treatment, but when it comes to the nodes, it may show that they are enlarged, but compared to a CT scan or MRI the information is pretty vague. Note that whomever read the ultrasound didn't say anything about the nodes that were found. Mentioning that they exist seems a foregone conclusion. But like I said, ultrasound isn't a very specific tool when dealing with t he nodes. From what you have posted here, I don't think anyone could read much into the report good or bad. It is pretty hard to speculate on why a doctor does something. Surgically taking only a few of the nodes may mean that he only took the sentinel nodes, and if they are clear in the pathology report afterwards, there is high confidence that nodes further down the chain are unaffected. But your post doesn

Thank you for your response Brian. Actually before starting his radiatheraphy treatment doctors did take Ct scan. But it was not given to us. they recommended 25 days of radiation. I dont know how much dose that means?

He completed his 10th radiation yesterday and is starting to have a lot of pain in neck area.Having difficulty in swallowing water even.

Please let me know what precautions or steps he must take during this period? What can he do to reduce his pain? what kind of food is good for him. I guess he will come on liquid diet as he is unable to swallow solids.

If anybody under same treatment please respond.
Your help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Kirshna

Hello Kirshna, If you search the forum by using the search function, you can find all kinds of messages about eating and getting through radiation treatments. It can be difficult make sure he gets plenty of water and as much food as he can. Any food he enjoys can be processed by a blender to be made nearly liquid. Soups are good too. Hot spicy foods are not good for a while.

Take care

Hello Ppl,

Thank you for your continued responses.

My father's radiation treatments have been increased from 25 days to 33 days. I do not understand the reason why though? Dcotors did not perform any scans or reports before declaring that he needed 8 more radiations after completing 25.

Is it common that radiations are increased at later stage of treatment?

Also, My father has been asking me after radiation, how many days it will take for him to recover? Recover meaning.. sores will be gone.. he will be able to eat solid food.. drink water without having pain to swallow it? I know it depends on person to person but as a rough idea how much time does it usually take to get back to normal?

Please Let me know. Thanks, Krishna

Krishna, It is not wise to give your father a "get back to normal" time frame-because everyone is truely different in that reguard. If you can get him to focus on a week at a time after treatment is over, it will be better for him. And some of his recovery speed will depend on how weel he can keep up his weight and liquid intake during the rest of his radiation. Wishing you both the best. Amy

adding to Amy's comments some people do recover rather quickly I noticed marked improvement in swallowing in one week. That said, I also had fatigue for many months. As Amy has said, look back each week and you will notice change for the better