I would recommend getting your tonsils out at Moffitt. I like you used my local ENT--started as growths on my vocal cord which went on for two years (HPV related pappillomas). My ENT sent me on and a specialist thought my tonsil looked weird...month later I was diagnosed with squamous cell carinoma. I have always wondered if I'd gone on to a place that sees cancer more if they would have found it earlier. They did a radical tonsillectomy on the left then got a second opinion at MD Anderson in Houston and the CT Scan made my right tonsil suspcious (rare to have it in both but it can happen). Luckily my right tonsil was clear. Even if you have the tonsils removed you always will have some tonsil tissue. Good luck!

Nothing showed up on the Pet except my neck but Moffitt wanted to find my primary and thought they had a pretty good chance after studying the computer images of my scope. My surgeon told me he wasn't going to stop until he found it so I'm way glad he found at his first stop. I was told that with an Occult Primary they would have had to modify my radiation to cover more areas and since they hit me with the max that would have meant targeting potentially unnecessary areas.

[quote=davidcpa]Nope no surgery for me other than what he took on the BOT primary which he told me after I woke up that my primary was so small he thinks he got it all when he took the biopsy. I has a sore throat for a couple of days and no one even gave me my ice cream that I had requested before counting backwards from 100 which I don't even remember 97.

We joke and kid around a lot now so if you want to see him smile do what he thinks professionally is the best course of action for you.[/quote]

That means he could not visualize or palpate your BOT primary, right?

I think I will be getting my tonsils out this year, but I hate to be 5 hours away from him if something should arise, and I definitely can't spend 14 days there. I wonder if my local ENT would do followup for someone on whom he did not perform surgery (and for whom he thinks surgery is not the best course).

Jeannie, thanks for your advice. What is a radical tonsillectomy? Were all your problems directly related to oral papillomas or was high risk involved? I was told there was virtually no chance of papillomas becoming malignant as they are low risk?

Annie,

No he scoped with with a camera attachment and was viewing it in color on a large monitor. With the scope down my throat he was pointing out the BOT area that he thought looked suspicious enough to put me under.

Why the 14 days? Even with the prospect of my tonsils coming out I was to go home that same day. Can't someone drive you home and bring you back for any followup?

On the chance that your tonsils may be cancerous and given your propensity to worry, I would not postpone this procedure. JM2C's