Anita, in my case neck dissection was not part of my treatment, either. By using a fine needle biopsy the ENT doctor could already determine the cancerous lymph node involvement. The size and shape of it (actually I had two much enlarged lymph nodes)could be confirmed by MRI and CT scan. Both my tonsil and lymph nodes responded very well to radiation and chemo and they shrank significantly ( especially the tonsil) after the first two weeks. My oncologist told me two months post treatment that surgery was not necessary.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.