Amy --

Perhaps not the merriest Christmas for you guys but hang in there, and think of Christmasses to come.

Your son sounds like he could be one of the so-called "new demographic" for head and neck cancer, younger, non-smoker, cancer presenting in tonsil and/or base of tongue -- and most of these seem to be due to the human papilloma virus (HPV) (the same virus that causes almost all cervical cancer). If your cancer center has not already suggested it, you probably should get his tumor tested for this. It will not change his initial treatment but it improves his prognosis (HPV cancers seem more sensitive to chemoradiation) and also, there is far less chance of recurrence -- less than 15% per Dr. Maura Gillison (Johns Hopkins) one of the major researchers on HPV SCC.

If your center does not do HPV tests, a tumor sample or even the pathology slides can be sent to Johns Hopkins for testing:
http://pathology.jhu.edu/labservices/hpv.cfm

Amazingly, despite quite a few papers in the last 5-6 years, a lot of doctors are unaware of this aspect of HNC. Dr. Gillison recently had a paper published on this "changing demographic" (You can also search this forum and the OCF web site itself for more info).

Not all non-smokers have an HPV cancer, but it probably factors in a majority of such cases, There are other causative factors, however, including certain pollutants, other viruses, genetics etc.

I know my husband was pleased to hear that his Stage III/IV cancer was HPV+, it made him more optimistic and that in turn made him stronger in getting through the rigorous treatment period. We just celebrated his second Christmas since he was treated, he is essentially back to normal and we are back to all our normal activities -- off birdwatching in Panama in a week, for example!

So hang in there and be strong for your son -- this Forum wlll be a big support in weeks and months to come.

Best of luck, Gail