Hi everybody. I completed my rads/chemo for tonsilar SCC about four months ago. In many ways I'm doing quite well, can eat more foods, "water blisters" in mouth reacting to acidic foods has greatly reduced, taste has returned, beard has mostly returned.

Mouth is still very dry, and I sleep very poorly still, which may be due to stress.

I recently had my 3-month follow-up (CT-scan, physical exam) and the result was mixed. Mouth looks good, but residual swelling in neck (1.8 cm down from 4 cm) has my RO concerned and I'll get a neck biopsy collected this Friday.

Here's my question. My RO implied that the neck biopsy should be able to distinguish between mere scar tissue, "non-viable" cancer (i.e. dying cancer), and "viable" cancer. If "viable" that would lead to a recommendation for neck surgery to remove the lymph glands.

Via a friend who's about 3-months ahead of me in this process, his RO has stated that my biopsy *will* be positive for cancer, and without having had much more frequent assessments to track trending (shrinking/growing) it will be difficult to determine from the biopsy if the cancer is still viable.

The notion that my RO may recommend sugery when another might not has be concerned.

Any thoughts or experience? Sorry this is rather rambling.

Thank you.