Jerry - thanks for the welcome mat. I have learned so much from this site I finally decided to join in. Son stopped by this morning; he looked very good. He is a nurse and worked all night. He ended rad 6/5 and last weekend started eating solids. Boy is he happy. His node is still there, but it is smaller than it was. He is so happy to get out of the house and has received so much love and compassion from his patients and coworkers and doctors - I think it is real good for him to get back to work.

As for the delay in diagnosing: People are soooo right. What in the world do you look for? How should you feel? :rolleyes: If we ran to doc for every cold sore, ache or pain it would be a travesty. I think the best advice I can think of is if "it" doesn't heal within 2 weeks, get concerned. Start asking Qs and shoot, self-refer to an ENT or - gasp! Pay for it yourself. But our Human Nature says: Ignore it; it'll go away. Can't blame people, it's scary. We've all done it.

I am checking this site very often. Many thanks to all that share their experiences and opinions. Collie