In my husband's case - there was a neck lump, and when he finally went to see the ENT doc - he did the fine needle aspiration, checked in his mouth, his nose ...made him recite the alphabet (to check the vocal cords)...and he said he STILL couldn't tell for sure what was going on. Almost a month later - my husband went in for a surgical biopsy of the area, and after the procedure...the ENT doc called me over to him and sat me in a small room (with the door partially shut). I knew this couldn't be good - and he said that he definitely has cancer. He said it was called squamous cell carcinoma. I asked what stage it was in...and he said III possibly IV. Needless to say - I was numb. In total shock and disbelief. Even though prior to this surgery, I did TONS of research on the internet to find any and all scenarios it could be, and the sad thing was...everything I researched was not good. In my heart of hearts, I knew this had to be cancer - but still, no matter how prepared you think you are - the news always hits you like a ton of bricks. So to make a long story short - I was told at the hospital. My husband was not informed until after he came around from the anesthesia....and I had to tell him. It was the worst thing I ever had to do in my life. I'll never forget that day, as I'm sure none of us will ever forget that moment when our lives were forever changed.