So.....two weeks post treatment and faring well in most categories. No major throat pain, swallow ok but feeding through the PEG for the time being. The big issue is my concern that I can still feel a bit of a swollen node on one side (it is not visible) and I get to wait until early October for my scan.

Should I be concerned? Can Dr's check anything earlier?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom/guidance.

Jasper

I am sure other ppl can answer your question better than I but I had a similar problem (I thought) on the left side. My ENT felt it and told me it was part of my thyroid and it was supposed to be there, don't know if that is the case for you but FYI.
I hope someone else will chime in but I thought I had read that you are still being treated, tumors can continue to shrink for some time after you finish going for treatments. That is just something I remember reading so don't take it to the bank. If you are concerned call your oncologist and get in there early to discuss it, that is why they get paid the big bucks.

Radiation continues to work just as long as your treatment lasted. I had a similar enlarged lymph node, that was slowly shrinking, and didn't have my post treatment PET scan until 5 months, due to inflammation, and it came back clear, even though it did not shrink completely. The doctors can feel the nodule, and may get an idea if it's cancerous or maybe just necrotic, inflammation, fluids, although not certain proven that way, and may monitor to see if it's subsiding or not. They can also do an earlier scan, and have read at 8 weeks, PET scans are 90% accurate, and some even do them at 6 weeks, in case further treatment is necessary, an FNAB or even surgery for a neck dissection, if its suspicious for reminiscent cancer. Speak with your doctors with your concerns. I hope this helps.

Hi Jasper,

Do you have an appt. for your next MO, RO, ENT followups? I had these about 5 weeks post or so. The RO did a lot of feeling around and also checking as much orally without any scope. He quipped "I don't see any cancer", so I have to assume that doing these checkups for decades gives him enough experience to have a really good idea of what nodes would look/feel if there was some residual cancer.

My first post tx scans are being scheduled for next month sometime. I am just 7 weeks post, so that puts the scan around 11-12 weeks post. best to you, don

I would still go in and bring it to the attention of your ro.

Kris had a residual lymph node. It was smaller and harder post treatment. His 3 month post treatment PET scan showed some residual cancer. He then had a neck dissection and it was removed. The pathology came back as necrotic tissue only.
I would make sure your radiation oncologist is aware of it and ask what thy plan to do about it.
Tammy

I do have appointments set up with ENT and MO in two weeks (4 weeks post treatment) and RO two weeks after that. I will definitely be bringing it up to get their take and for my piece of mind. I also just read a bit more on the NCCN site and it seems like they can do some tests in advance of the PET like a CT with contrast that helps to make an earlier decision whether to consider neck dissection.

All in all, sounds like I need to be armed with information and ask the questions at upcoming appointments. I remain concerned but hopeful and appreciate the info and personal experiences.

Jasper.

While frustrating, generally speaking, re-testing too early is only likely to return false positive results and you DON'T WANT THAT. I'm due to have a post-treatment PET-CT in two weeks, a full two months following the end of my recent treatment. Any earlier would truly be pointless, because the PET-CT *will* show 'hot' results from the residual inflammation of the treatment. You likely must simply be patient, which is really difficult, I know.

-Seth

Seth,

I polled here and over at CSN about the average time from treatment for the first PET. It seems generally 8 week is the very minimum but most seem to wait until about 12 weeks out. I am scheduling mine for 12 weeks out, just to be a bit safer with the false positives. don

I was curious about the timing. Seems like I am reading a lot of posts at 8 weeks post Tx - mine is scheduled for 12. I know I am not alone, but a tough waiting game.