My node was very large but the team decided to leave it. In some ways it could act as a barometer of what was happening to my BOT tumor. They could always take it later if necessary. I had one on the opposite side taken out PT cuz they didn't like the way it looked on the scans. The layman description of what they found was "radiation damage". Aside from the biopsy, that was the only surgery I had. The big one responded and is still in my neck.