Mamacita,

I'm sorry to hear of your Dx. I know that feeling when you hear those words "you have cancer". I too knew but my heart still skipped a beat when I heard the words. Did they mention HPV? If you are positive, it bodes well for treatment.

I had my palatine and lingual tonsils removed along with additional lymph nodes, a minefield of biopsies and they never found the primary tumor. Initially the docs locally were going with rads and chemo only but a 2nd opinion at Johns Hopkins (and subsequent treatment there) was selective neck dissection and lesser rads/chemo (30 rads 6 weekly Cisplatin). Ultimately I feel it was the best decision as the cancer was very aggressive and the tumors were fairly extensive.

Regardless, I won't sugar coat it, treatment is brutal. You'll gain a lot of insight and knowledge from the boards here. It helped me know what to look for and expect. Know this... yes, it's brutal but you'll survive. I'm 9 weeks post Tx and slowly getting better.

Hang tough Mamacita. You got this! Three main things to remember... HYDRATE, NUTRITION and PAIN MANAGEMENT.

Positive thoughts and prayers...

"T"