Hello everyone,

I was going to lurk awhile and see what kind of group this was but having read a number of threads already I can see being here will be good for me.

I am a 42 year old male originally from England but now a resident of upstate NY married to a wonderful American wife. We have two darling girls aged 2 years old and 10 weeks old respectively. I have never smoked and only used alcohol in moderation.

In May 2005, I went to my doctor about a lump on my neck, I was given antibiotics after it was established I had strep throat. 10 days later it had not gone away and I was refered to Otolaryngology. A CT scan and a fine needle aspiration later and the lump was thought to be a Branchial cleft cyst. Surgery was scheduled for June 10.

They opened me up and found metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. I had a total of 12 lymph nodes removed and 9 of them showed SCC.

I was in total shock and caught completely by surprise. This was not a possibility anyone had discussed with me. Unfortunately I am very aware of what Cancer is capable of. My Mother died at age 35 from a brain tumor and I was at my Father's bedside as he died from Lung cancer at age 62. (He was a heavy smoker all his life).

However, I am fortunate ? to work with two very supportive physicians at the Medical Examiner's Office. I very quickly was brought up to speed with what I might be facing and what exactly my pathology reports meant.

I went for a PET/CT scan and then I was back in the OR on July 8 My tonsils were removed and the Dr. had a good look around taking biopsies from suspicious areas. Rather luckily it turns out the wife of one of my ME's is a pathologist at the hospital and she took a personal interest in my case. Just as well because she sectioned the entire tonsils (apparently not a usual practise) found another or possibly the primary in my left tonsil. Everything else was apparently clear.

So after a week of the worst sore throat ever ( I have yet to have any radiation but I know it is coming, feeding tube and all) I am to return to work tomorrow.

And here is the reason for my post. My job is dealing with the dead, part of it is to take telephone reports of deaths in hospice programs. It is hard to remain totally upbeat when I record the negative effects of this disease every day. Especially when their date of birth is close to my own. If you survive this disease you are obviously never reported to our office. I love my job. ( it also covers medical benefits for my entire family so leaving is not currently an option). I need to hear some survivor stories to counterbalance the other stuff. I have already seen some inspiring stories in other threads so I know you are out there.

Looking forward to making a contribution to this site for a long time to come.

Paul