Thanks, Mark, for your thoughtful response. I think I will try to at least make some calls tomorrow. My father had suggested I get a second opinion from a friend of his who he thinks is the best ENT in town, so maybe my father could hook me up with him for an opinion. He is not at UAB, though, but I may see if there is someone there who can discuss this with me as well. I am certaily willing to do the tonsillectomy if that is what I need to do. I am just not totally clear that it is the most sensible approach. My current ENT told me that the tonsillectomy is the only way to know for sure whether I have cancer. If that is true, then I am going to do it since I can't stand the worrying much longer!

Again, thanks for your help. I tried several other sites before finding this one (which, by the way, does not come up in several pages on a yahoo search for head and neck cancer support!), but this is by far the best in terms of supportiveness and thoroughness of information.

All my best for your continued recovery.

Jenn