Hi everyone,

I was 3 years out of treatment at the end of July and saw my doctor on August 3rd for 4-month check-up and everything was fine. We did not do scans at that time since I had them done in January '07. He said we would do them in 4 months. However, about 2 weeks after I saw him, I noticed a small swelling just above my collarbone. I did not wait and called him. I saw him this past Tuesday and we did scans and a needle biopsy of the area. The area did not show on the CT scan, but the biopsy came back inconclusive with atypical cell dysplasia. The report called for further biopsy - my doctor is recommending a 2nd neck dissection to get the 3rd and 4th level nodes. Given my history, he doesn't seem to want to wait and do an excisional biopsy first. Has anyone ever had a 2nd neck dissection? My doctor did say I would have a little more trouble with shoulder movement after this surgery and would need physical therapy. I had minimal shoulder trouble after the first surgery and to be honest, the neck dissection surgery was the easiest part of treatment for me.
The doctor is being cautious and not yet calling this a recurrence but did say if there were any cancer cells, we would be following up with chemo 6-8 weeks postsurgery.
I just returned to college this fall after 25 years and am trying to decide if I will be able to stay in school and have this surgery. My nurse thinks this is very doable but I am starting to freak out somewhat. I had just started to let myself think I was going to be able to move forward - my youngest child is almost 16 and I want to finish my education and go into the dietetics field and work with head/neck patients.

Any comments or ideas about the second surgery and its effectiveness and/or asscociated risks would be appreciated. I've heard what my doc says, now I want to know from people's experiences.

Thanks,

Pam