I just found out I have cancer.
I had surgery yesterday because I had had a swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck.
They removed my right tonsil---cancerous and I have 5 lymph nodes in my neck inflamed.

I don't know if I am explaining things right...but I sure could use some advice. My surgery and medical care is done through the Veterans Hospital.

Has anyone any advice on how to handle things with the VA?

How about the Radiation and Chemo?

Wow, I don't even know what to really ask, but I am willing to learn.

Any interaction would be helpful.

Thanks,

Jeff

hi its been 2 yrs since iwas informed i had cancer of the righttonsil and spread to my nodes i had 7 wks of radation and chemo 2 yrs out and im doing great im sure you will too take care jeff you will be fine

Jeff, Probably the best "1st thing to do" is have someone you trust go with you to all Dr. appts. for the next weeks, so that you have a 2nd pair of ears listening and taking notes. Read as much as you can here on the "Getting through it" subject. It will help you get prepared for the next steps. AND keep posting here as often as you can-ask lots of questions because you will get good answers. When you get a recommended treatment, let us know so we can help you with the stages [of radiation and chemo] Good luck and remember, You are not alone. Amy

Jeff,
You will see post after post of people who have been in your shoes. You are not alone. If you are like the rest of us you are terrified right now. Trust me when I say that will get better with time. My father was diagnosed with this same cancer in January of this year and I remember telling myself it had to be a mistake, my father is one of the healthiest people I know. They thought my father's cancer was in his tonsils as well but upon removal the tonsils showed no cancer eventhough he to had presented with a lump in the left side of his neck. He went on to have a modified neck dissection, they removed all of the lymph nodes in his neck and determined two of them to have cancer. They never have found the primary source eventhough they believe it could have been tonsils or base of tongue. My father is 4 months out of treatment still struggling some with eating but getting better every day. Has many have said on this forum it is not an easy journey but treatment is doable. Many before you on this forum have done this and are doing great just like oldbayboy. I have only been a part of this forum since the beginning of this year but have heard your same fear in many of us when we post for the first time and wonder how we are going to get through this. You will Jeff, so many on this forum will be of help to you. Keep posting, keep reading, ask questions of doctors and know that eventhough you will find similiarities in people's treatments you will also find everyone's situation is different. I know there are other members on the forum who have been treated at a VA hospital who can probably be of help to you in that area. My father wasn't willing to travel the distance for a major CCC hospital so we worked with several small town hospitals and doctors and that is where this forum was of great help to me as I could gain first hand knowledge from those who had been treated at a CCC. Ask any question Jeff I and everyone else will be here as you need us. My parents are close to Evansville, Indiana.
Take care
Kim

Just to let everyone know, Jeff is my pastor. We live close to each other and talk daily. I am just finishing HBO (Hyber-Baric Oxygen Treatment) to help the tissues in my mouth heal. I had a tumor in the left tonsil and finished 35 IMRT radiaton treatments the first part of June.

Jeff,
This is the place to get the answers and support. Read as much here as you can. Post any questions here as well. It will help prepare you.

You can and will beat this.

God bless,
Max

Jeff, welcome to the best place to calm fears with real information as opposed to speculation. I would caution you, however, that some of what you may read here is worst case, this being a place where people come with problems. There are many who used to post here who have gone on to happy lives. I had surgery, radiation, chemo, and a PEG tube and had no problems, recovered quickly and have felt just fine for more than four years now. There are many of us who had a reasonably uneventful course of treatment and you will not read too much about that here. Just something to keep in mind before you scare yourself silly, as I did. You have been given good advice about asking questions, because there will always be someone here with real life experience to answer you. Take a deep breath now, and realize that this is something you can do, which in the larger picture, is but a small part of your life.