Update: Had the Fine needle aspiration (FNA) results, Negative, said it was a Necrotic? Lymph node, reasons unknown, Last test PET scan, that will be Wednesday, Results they said to come in the following Monday as the office is closed for Good Friday. Any tips or pointers? We are very anxious.
TC
Sammie

Sammie, this sounds like good news so far-hope you all can set a goal to have a good Easter weekend together, doing something special. Whatever the PET shows, worrying about it for the next 7 days will not change the results. Hoping for the best for you both. Amy in the Oz

Sammie,

Necrotic means that the cells have died. I know when my ENT read the path report and got to that word he said, "Oh, I didn't want to see that word!!" I'm not a doc and I assume the cells can die for many reasons but disease is one of the reasons. Remember a FNA may not be able to pick up the diseased cells so I would ask your doc about that if I were you.

Sammie, I say enjoy the Easter weekend with your family. Everything else is shut down till Monday so enjoy each others company. Isn't that what you would be doing anyway. good news or bad don't let this disease take up time it doesn't deserve. You and you family are in my prayers.

Last update for a while........It has been confirmed..... its back... we are so upset, hubby is convinced it is all over, am trying to restore his faith and determination to fight this thing.
TC for now.....
Sammie

Hi Sammie, I'm so sorry to hear the news and can understand your reactions to it. We all live in fear after a cancer diagnosis - of just about everything. Did they get it all? Is this the best treatment? Am I doing too much or too little? It's hard to find a context for all these emotions.

I believe that it is perfectly normal for your husband to feel it's all over with this news but there are new treatments and things coming out of clinical trials every day. This is a very active time in cancer research. It's easier said than done but try not to get too far ahead of the information you have at any given moment. Just like the first time it's still about the location, the type of cancer of they have found, how aggressive it is, and what they think they can do about it. If you don't trust what you are hearing get a second opinion. Tumor slides can be shipped anywhere and you have nothing to lose by doing that.

What are they talking to you about in terms of treatment? It doesn't appear that he's had chemo or radiation from your signature so is that an option? Ask about Erbitux because that has been studied in clinical trials with recurrent cancers. Jack and I went to a conference on HNC at University of PA last week and sat with a woman who had survived 3 recurrences. It changed our perspective dramatically.

All the speakers stressed how rapidly things are changing. I think you need to feel the shock and emotion of it coming back but don't give up. More people are surviving.

Regards JoAnne

Hi, Sammie, I agree with JoAnne, there is always room for hope - if not for a cure, then at least for a way to control the growth of the cancer. In our case, John survived his recurrance for 15 months and during those months we were able to tend to alot of important things we had neglected-estate planning, living wills, powers of attorney, a few trips, etc. Plus, we spent every minute we could together. The outcome was not what we were hoping for, but I am so grateful for the time we had. Wishing much strength to both of you. Amy in the Ozarks

I promise I have not lost hope! They are setting up Chemo, Radiation I did ask about Erbitux, and they said yes they are going to throw everything at it in their arsenal, they also mentioned Cisplatin and others, but we were in such a daze from getting the DX that I am afraid I did not retain too much info. Will call Doctor and find out.
Thanks again.
Sammie

Sammie, please keep us in athe loop because we will be thinking about you. Amy in the Oz

Sammie,

Please do not give up hope, sounds like your husband still has a few options available. It's good that he kept the cancer at bay after the surgery in 2005. My sister has been fighting this cancer for 2 years, 4 surgeries and the cancer kept spreading to another site, she just completed 35 IMRT treatments and 7 rounds of cisplatin. She is improving every day, gaining strength and looking forward to life. Seems they found this tumor early and treatment will begin shortly, I wish the best to you both. The information on this site, now that he will be experiencing chemo and radiation is so informative, I wished we had known about this earlier during my sister's treatment. Good luck and always have hope.

Nancy