Had a little scare about a month ago, a small lump appeared on the left side base of my neck, below where my cancer had been. I already had a regular appointment scheduled to see my surgeon so I requested a fresh set of scans, CT and PET/CT, so I could get results in that appointment. Of course, the surgeon was out sick and missed clinic but I was able to get in the following week, which was this past Tuesday.

Well... the lump is muscle not lymph node as I'd feared! The doc explained that one of the longer term effects of radiation is dissolving of fat, which I'd not heard before. So this lump of muscle has always been there, but covered by a fat layer. As the fat dissolved, it became more prominent.

I don't have to tell you all how relieved I am that this isn't recurrence and also how strange/disconcerting it is to be still figuring out my 'new normal' after nearly three years.

- Margaret

Stage IV SCC lt lateral tongue, surgery 5/19/08 (partial gloss/upper neck dissection left side/radial free flap reconstruction) IMRT w/weekly Cisplatin & Erbitux 6/30/08, PEG 1 6/12/08 - out 7/14 (in abdominal wall, not stomach), PEG 2 7/23/08 - out 11/20/08, Tx done 8/18/08
Second SCC tumor, Stage 1, rt mobile tongue, removed 10/18/2016, right neck dissection 12/9/2016
Third SCC tumor, diagnosed, 4/19/2108, rt submandibular mass, HPV-, IMRT w/ weekly Cisplatin, 5/9 - 6/25/2018, PEG 3 5/31/2018