The problem is that lots of things can look like active cancer -- and sometimes it IS active cancer. However infection, inflammation, healing, scarring etc. also will cause uptake of the radioactive tracer and a cautious radiologist will not want to say it is NOT cancer!

Thus the second PET/CT. At many centers, including Hopkins and I believe Sloan, the standard protocol is a PET/CT at 3 months -- 8 weeks is considered early and too subject to "false positives" -- then a second at 6 months, A suspicious scan might prompt an MRI or even a biopsy if the area were easily accessible. Obviously residual active cancer requires further action which would be surgery, but the doctors want to be as sure of this as they can be.

On another tack, has David been tested for human papilloma virus? The majority of tonsillar cancers seem to be due to this factor and this has a better prognosis and response to treatment than the cancer of smokers. If your center doesn't do it, Hopkins can.

Gail