My husband is doing his second bolus cisplatin with emend today. He has had 14 radiation treatments to his neck. Had a tumor removed in his lymph node prior to beginning tx. This is what dx as SCC Stage IV - no primary. Now a tumor has suddenly appeared on the other side of his neck. Has anyone ever had experience with this? The doc is doing a scan tomorrow but thinks it might be dead cancer cells liquifying???? HUH?

I think what he may be referring to is necrosis where dead cells putrify and turn into a liquid this usually escapes through a fistula or hole that appears in the skin where the swelling is.Sounds a bit strange to me though if its on the opposite side to the tumour..

The PET scan showed a small tumor on the opposite side of where the tumor was removed....so it could be that tumor? I hope. Thank you for your response. I'll look up the info you shared.

Usually it's only the side of the neck that covers the drainage area of the Primary that potentially ends up having an affected node. In the almost 3 years I have been on this site I can't remember positive nodes on both sides from the same Primary but I'm sure that's possible. It's also possible that both sides were positive but only the one side had a node large enough at Dx time to be detected. Also I'm not sure by your post if he is getting rad to both sides or just the positive side which I would have thought to be standard where the Primary can not be assessed.

David do you not remember Rob's primary and secondary were on opposite sides? The specialist said at the outset that this was puzzling and may throw a spanner in the works.They never,(even after the bilateral radical neck dissection and removing of 67 nodes)found out how it traveled.

No Liz I had forgotten about that. It is rare though but as we have seen nothing is outside the scope of this cancer.

Laurie,
Is your husband being treated at a major Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC)?

It is very rare these days for a CCC not to find a primary and bilateral lymph nodes tumors from a true unknown or multiple unknowns seems very unusual.

There is a lot of extra and larger areas of irradiation to endure when the primary can not be found, so a good CCC does a lot of extra work looking, surgical scoping, special hi-res CT scans, maximized slice CT/PET scans, lots of punch biopsies, numerous doctors/surgeons looking, etc.. before giving up.

Unknowns often suffer higher morbidity issues from the excessive radiation

I was told that I had an Occult Primary until I went to Moffitt, my 5th cancer doctor, where the Chief of Oral Surgery told me that he was putting me under and wouldn't stop until he found my Primary. Fortunately for me it was the first biopsy he took. BOT. I had gone to sleep understanding I was going to loose my tonsils and had even ordered my ice cream but all I ended up with was a very sore throat for a weekend.