Hi Shawna--

First, major congrats in order for your Dad! As Helen says, sunshine ahead!

Don't know if this makes you feel better, but when we went to Sloan for a 2nd opinion, the doc there discussed progression of oropharyngeal cancer (recall Barry had been months between initial neck lump problems and final dx) -- he said that the spread to the nodes in the neck can be fairly quick but that spread beyond that is usually much slower, and in fact, in many cases never occurs. You should ask your oncologist about this but we also got about the same info from our MO and she's been around many many HNC patients.

Say Hi to your Dad,

Gail and Barry


CG to husband Barry, dx. 7/21/05, age 66, SCC rgt. tonsil, BOT, 2 nodes (stg. IV), HPV+, tonsillectomy, 7x carboplatin, 35x tomoTherapy IMRT w/ Ethyol @ Johns Hopkins, thru treatment 9/28/05, HPV vaccine trial 12/06-present. Looking good!