First let me thank the forum and foundation for this spot to connect with fellow people affected by this condition.

My name is Bill. For the past 25 years I've been a locomotive engineer at a class 1 railroad, hence the user name. It's not entirely because I'm crazy.

Where to begin...about 6 months ago I looked in the mirror and noticed a lump under my right jaw (a future ultrasound would show it to be 6cm by 4cm, so it wasn't subtle). I made an appointment with my primary doctor and he seemed rather unconcerned. He ordered blood work and gave me antibiotics. The blood work came back fine and he said keep an eye on it. I'm a widower. I only mention this because my wife would have never let that be the end of it. I, on the other hand, was okay with doing nothing. It didn't hurt, stayed the same size and basically didn't change my life.

After 4 months a very good friend forced me to do something about it. She pressed me almost daily to have it checked out again. From here things happened fast. I made an appointment with a different doctor at the same practice as my primary and she was very concerned. She immediately sent me to an ENT. The ENT ordered a biopsy. The biopsy showed cancer with the HPV marker. Primary tumor on the right tonsil which spread to a group of lymph nodes under the right jaw. Stage 3 for those keeping score. The tumor board looked at the results. I met with 8 different specialists and a plan of treatment was presented to me. 3 rounds of Chemo and 35 radiation sessions.

The first round of chemo was manageable and today I get my 10th radiation treatment. I am losing my ability to taste things, some dry mouth, but other than that everything is "fine".

I would be grateful for any tips, suggestions and/or words of wisdom.

Anyway, thanks again for having me.

Bill