My husband Dean woke up this morning with a swollen, red and sore neck on the side of his surgery. He had a radicial neck dissection w/forearm flap 12/05/03 followed by 35 IMRT treatments 12/6/04. He has been doing well so far, still has a peg because of swallowing and dental issues. I will call the doctor as soon as they open, but any ideas? We have a problem of which Dr. to go to for what problem. We live in a small town about an hour away from his surgeons and oncologist. I never know if I should take him to the City or deal with his GP here at our clinic. We always seem to get shuffled from Dr. to Dr. causing us lots of extra time and expense.

Vanessa
Wife of Dean, SCC t3/n3 Left tonsil, Radical Neck dissection 12/05/03, 35 IMRT treatments

Vanessa,
I don't know if this helps, but here goes. My father had 38 IMRT treatments (no surgery) which ended roughly about 1 year ago. He still periodically swells up in the neck and chin area. Oncologist said that this is from the radiation, not the chemo he is currently undergoing. He said the swelling on and off may be an ongoing thing. We see the radiologist next week, and I will ask him his opinion. Keep the faith and keep on fighting.


Vickie M

My 2 cents. It has been over 2 years since the end of my treatment but I would experience swelling and moderate pain once in a while. AT the beginning, I always made appointment with Dr. to check them out, everytime they said it is just the long term side effect of the treatment and they are right. Usually, it something came overinght and cause some pain, it is NOT cancer. It is usally some sort of imflamation or infection.

2 things i've experienced:
1. general, daily variances in swelling, puffiness, soreness, & skin color. My husband says my neck/face looks slightly different every day. The docs have said that is to be expected due to the changes of surgery & radiation (I had both)
2. infection. I've had several rounds of infection. Now I wait a few days and see if the symptoms get worse before I call the docs. With infection the stiffness, warmth of skin, redness gets noticeably worse. Last April I waited until my next regularly scheduled dr visit before I said anything, but meanwhile a puffy spot popped open leaking pus, then I had an open pathway between the inside of my mouth and my chin (sorry to be so gross). That was waiting too long. Now I recognize the symptoms and call sooner for antibiotics - which work.

From your message I am a little confused about the IMRT - did he have it a year ago or doing it now?

If you can try telephoning your cancer docs & describing the symptoms first it might help on some of that confusion about which doc to go to. Let the doctors know if he has a fever, increased fatigue, and when it started.
Good luck,
michelle

Hi Vanessa, I hope by the time you read this you have resolved the problem and everything is fine. What you have described is similar to what I experienced shortly after my neck dissection. It turned out to be an infection that antibiotic cleared up right away.

By the way Hi from northeast Minnesota!

Vanessa,

I did not have the surgery but when there is even a major weather change, my neck swells up and hurts. My son caught some virus and my neck has been swollen for about 3 weeks now. I have been to the doctor and he assures me there is nothing to worry about and now I am taking antibiotics.

I hope everything turns out to be of no concern.

Ed