Just a quick update. I saw my ENT yesterday afternoon who related that the hard lump in the roof of my mouth appeared to be as Brian said, "a torus", which is common. He rechecked the lymph node in my neck/cervical area and related that he really thought it would have gone away on its own by now. He stated that we could continue to watch it or he could remove it. I asked about the fine needle aspiration, but he stated that he felt sure from the ultrasound and CT scan that it was a lymph node and stated that he expected the fine needle aspiration to reveal lymphocites(?)which would cause the pathologist, in turn, to ask for a tissue biopsy. So, he suggested doing one procedure instead to remove the entire node. He said it would involve about a 2" incision in my neck under general anesthesia but would be faily simple. I am scheduled for my pre-op visit on Monday and surgery on Friday of next week. It just seems radical for such a small lump. The doc stated that my options were either to continue to check it about every two months or get rid of it and make sure everything is alright. He said he was 90% sure it would be benign, but it was best to be safe. I am anxious to find out just what the surgery will entail. I hope I've made the right choice. Thanks for your e-mails. TGF