Hi Nancy:
I was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in November 2007. The cancer was discovered only after I insisted my tonsils be removed. Some time in October 2007, we had a blood pressure machine put in the breakrooms of where I worked. I was checking my blood pressure and kept getting a high pulse rate, which I had had before; one of my coworkers told me that I could check my pulse by placing a finger on each side of my throat. When I did that, I felt a swollen place, only about 3" long, under my right cheek on my neck. It wasn't hard, and had never hurt. I would have never noticed it because it wasn't even visible in the mirror. Being concerned, I went to my family doctor who said I had a sinus infection and that was what the swelling was caused from. He gave me something for the infection and told me everything was okay. After another two weeks, I still could feel the swollen place although it hadn't gotten any larger. I called the doctor and his nurse proceeded to tell me that I should just forget about it; she had the same thing all the time and to quit worrying. After another several weeks, I decided to go to an ENT doctor on my own. He had a scan done on my throat and a needle biopsy was performed on the spot that was swollen. The scan was inconclusive as to whether it was something or nothing; the needle biopsy was NEGATIVE. But, I still just didn't feel right. I'm not sure why, but I decided to get a second opinion from another ENT. He couldn't tell either, but said since my tonsils were red on that side and a little swollen, he'd recommend taking them out. I did, and sure enough, there was squamous cell cancer underneath. I believe it was also in a gland or lobe. Nevertheless, I ended up with 7 weeks of radiation, with one day each week of chemotherapy. That was quite a trip - it'll be two years in November, and thank GOD, so far all my follow-up CAT and PET scans have been clear. I do, however, suffer from many of the side effects from radiation. That is just something you have to accept. It's better than the alternative
Julieann
