Welcome. John Hopkins is an excellent hospital, as Cheryld said. They are at the forefront of
HPV related oropharyngeal cancer, which this probably is, and number one in ENT in the country, and number three for cancer, and that's where I would go if given a choice. I believe another member is currently going there. Anyway, things do move fast, but you can slow it down if you want, somewhat by a few weeks, but may depend in the histology of the node, and what the doctors think, at least to get a 2nd opinion. From the biopsy it should be learned if it is
HPV positive or not, which makes a difference in response and prognosis, but treatment is the same, except for clinical trials, that's what is being suggested.
I always had my PET/CT scans before surgery, treatment, as part of my work-up, and had quite a few at different treatment centers, but being he had an MRI, that could suffice, but a PET is more accurate in identifying tumerous nodes even as small as 5mm, distant metasteses, and synchronous cancers. After surgery, there will be inflammation, and a PET can show false positives, but is often used for restating, post treatment scanning.
Here is a listing of the best hospitals in the counrty, in 16 specialties, including cancer, ENT, by U.S. News Report.
http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/ear-nose-and-throat A listing of NCI Cancer Centers:
http://oralcancerfoundation.org/resources/cancer_centers.htmGood luck, and I hope this helps.
