i have just been diagnosed with tonsil cancer, does anyone have ideas on surgery as opposed to chemo?

Hi Robert, welcome to the forum and you're going to find a lot of different opinions on that one. A lot depends on the stage of your cancer and whether there is any metastasis to the surrounding areas of your mouth - soft palate, base of tongue, larynx and/or the lymph nodes. Do you know any of that yet?
Next, it depends on where you are being treated and if it is a comprehensive cancer center or affiliated with one. Don't be afraid to get second opinions from doctors that are experienced in head and neck cancer and read the information on this site regarding treatments, you will find it extensive and helpful.
Ask questions and make the doctors explain their rationale to you for all their recommendations.
Regards JoAnne

Hi Robert,

Good simple question. Difficult answer. Have you had a CT scan? Metastasis? Pathology report? There is much more that needs to be known before you can make any dicision regarding chemo, surgery or radiation. My best advice is get to a CCC (comprehensive cancer center) ASAP. Make sure they have IMRT radiation equipment.

Not sure of your age or background, but if caught early enough, like mine, it can be beat.

Steve

Chemo is never the primary treatment for oral cancer. It would be surgery or radiation. Even then chemo is an adjunt to radiation most of the time. There is a section of the main site that has different treatment protocols based on staging. Once you have that, you can reveiw that NCCN PDF and see what the recomendations would be, still it wil be up to your doctors at the center and that centers protocols as to how this goes. That is why it is so important to make the right choice in picking your cancer treatment facility.

thanks for the advice oh I'm 44 male never smoked a day in my life and had my tonsils out when i was 9 years old. Talk about lightning striking. CT scan is scheduled for friday a flectcher allen hosp. in Burlington VT I'll let you know what happens on friday

Robert --

While the diagnosis can well be done at your local hospital, this is a dangerous and sneaky cancer, the treatment is rigorous and can be debilitating, and where you have it done is extremely important to your outcome, both regarding success (in controlling the disease) and the seriousness (and permanance) of the side effects.

The OCF web site has a section on choosing a Comprehenive Cancer Center -- and why these are the best choice for treatment if at all possible. At the very least, go to one for a second opinion and treatment recommendation. You are in New York so your logical choice would be Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NYC. It is rated #1 for cancer treatment in the USA. We went up to Sloan (from Maryland) for a second opinion on my husband's very similar diagnosis, tonsillar cancer (spread to two lymph nodes), never smoked and he also had his tonsils out as a kid. Turned out he had a human papilloma virus-16 induced cancer (check OCF for more information on this, increasingly found to be a cause of oral cancer.) He was treated at Johns Hopkins, also a CCC.

Treatment optons for head and neck cancer depend in part on how extensive it is (stage) but often involves radiation, with or without chemotherapy as an adjunct, and there may also be surgery. My husband had his cancerous tonsil removed but they would not touch (surgically) the cancer that had spread into the base of his tongue because of possible impacts on speech and swallowing. This and the lymph nodes were treated with chemoradiation. He had no furter surgery.

This was about a year ago and he is doing very well, so although it is a frightening diagnosis and a rough road for a while, it can be beaten.

It is good you have found this Forum, there is a wealth of information and support here...

Good luck,
Gail

Robert,
I had tonsil cancer and had chemo and IMRT and I am 3 1/2+ survivor today. My quality of life is about 98% of what is was.