Hi folks,

My username is Ward Cleaver. My real name is also Ward.

I am married, with 3 kids.

Someone (an administrator or moderator) has filled in the "location" in my profile as "Gastonia, North Carolina."
This is quite incorrect.
Not only am I not from "Gastonia, North Carolina," I have never even been in the town of "Gastonia."

Anyway, my wife was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in October of 2004.

She was completely asymptomatic...no discomfort, no pain, etc...except for a feeling of having a "crumb" in the back of her mouth one evening after dinner that she said for some reason felt stuck somewhere in the back of her mouth. She described it as a very vague sensation, and was certainly in no discomfort because of it.

I viewed the inside of her mouth with a penlight and noticed a rather large mass on her left tonsil.
Of course, we made an appointment with an ENT the following day.

The tumor was diagnosed as a Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the left tonsillar fossa with invasion and growth into the left base of the tongue (T2-N0-M0). It measured 4.0 cm by 2.7 cm.
No biopsy was performed on any of her lymph nodes.
The determination that no lymph nodes were involved was arrived at by the fact that no cervical lymphadenopathy was seen on the CT of her neck.

Her treatment consisted of radiation therapy with concomitant chemotherapy.

Treatment ended the week of Christmas, 2004.

She is currently in remission with no sign of either the original or any new lesions.

Regards,
-Ward