been peeking in here for awhile...thought i'd introduce myself....i'm sue,44,mother of three,24,21,and 10...grandma of 1.between thanksgiving and christmas i noticed a lump on the left side of neck.one day it wasn't there,the next day it was-made me very uneasy.saw my gp,she ran blood tests and gave me a script for antibiotics.she told me not to worry,no indications of lymphoma,iwas young,healthy,non-smoker,must be an infection.two weeks later it's bigger and my face feels kinda numb so i return to doctor.she refers me to an ent,appt. in 2 weeks.he looks at me ,predicts cat-scratch fever,runs a ct scan and removes lymph node...2 weeks later.tells me it looks ok -come see him in a week.in his office,he tells me the node was larger than he thought but i was ok,but let him check my path report.he returns to room,kinda pale,and starts saying words like metsasic cancer ,head and neck,unknown primary......i felt totally crushed!1 month later,i'm getting ready to undergo neck dissection and a series of biopsies to determine the primary at the james cancer hosiptal.i'm trying to be upbeat(failing badly)and not so damn scared.i read in here everyday,thank you for being here! any words of wisdom? and does anyone have any thoughts on whether i will be able to return to work(soon?ever?)? i am a construction worker and have always been the primary bread-winner. thanks,sue

Hi Susanlaura1,

Everyone who goes through this has their own experience. Treatments vary some, side effects also vary. Recovery time is once again different for everybody. Personally I think you have a good chance of doing most everything you did before. The thing for you to focus on is getting well. Take one step at a time. It is a scary time but you can get through. Odds are you will not be able to do really labor intensive work for a while. Find a way to not get stressed out about that. Take care and keep posting.

Hi Sue,
first off, I would be thinking positive. The gp did a good job, followed protocol, got you into the ENT quickly. It sounds like it was caught early. You will have some uncertainty and fear while they are doing all of the assessments, tests and workups (as we all did). I have come to think of my cancer adventure as a "time out" from life for a while. I lessoned the anxiety by doing some financial planning up front. I nabbed the hospital social worker and found out all of my entitlements and benefits. (some of which start from date of diagnosis - like SSDI). Got my electric bills reduced, phone bills, water, etc. Got a 2.95% low interest rate on the mortgage for a year. You WILL be able to return to work but if you plan for an extended time off ahead of time, you can have one less thing to worry about while you are in recovery and this will actually help your recovery.

Hello and welcome,

As Mark & Gary have said everyone is different in the way they handle the treatments and the trearmeats do vary.

I have had the neck dissection as have many others on this board. I did lose some range of motion in my shoulder, but have gained everything back. I believe a lot depends on the surgeon and on the condition of the patient.

Since you have read around the site some you know that it's important you begin this fight now. Start eating to bulk up with good nutrition to help in your battle. Don't let the treatments zap the nutrients you'll need.

You don't really say if they have determonied a treatment plan for you yet??? Come back as you progress through this battle, there is usually someone here that can answer your questions.

Take care,
Dinah