Hi There
First of all a big Thanks to you guys for always providing me with amazing opinions.
Today MRI results were discussed, doc said all clear in the mouth but the right lymph node is not clear. They want surgery on Monday to take out lymph node/nodes from right side of the neck. please advice is it painful. doc said it would hurt to eat or drink. i was devastated today to see my husband with disappointed look after hearing about the surgery. he was in tears. please advice is there a way to find out if the lymph node is cancerous. oncologist said to see the surgeon regarding the MRI results and let them decide . please tell me is there a way to find out what is there in the lymph node?

Hi Roma. I am sorry for what you both are going through. The pathology from the neck dissection (name of surgery to remove lymph nodes) will tell you FOR SURE whether there is/was cancer in those lymph nodes on the right side. From your history, I take it they removed left side lymph nodes before.

As far as whether surgery is painful, I had the surgery at the same time as my tongue surgeries so its difficult to single out what hurt when it all did, but I do not recall my neck being a particular sore spot.

Try to stay calm, take one step at a time. Get the surgery and move on from there depending on results.

We are here for you.

Donna
(a fellow Canuck)

He could ask about a FNA (fine needle aspiration). That's how my cancer in my node was confirmed. Problem with the FNA is that they could miss drawing up cancer cells so the path would come back negative when actually it could be cancerous. May be worth the question though.

Thanks Donna and David

His left nodes were never removed. Through FNA on the right node cancer was confirmed. Docs want to do surgery on the right side, they said they will remove many nodes which are are closer.

Our question is exactly, why only after surgery can it be determined whether cancerous or not? I wish there was another way to find out without getting under the knife. 2 days hospital stay. he is so week already just started to recover from radiation and chemo. Now we have to endure the surgery.

First let me say, I'm sorry you and your husband have to go through this. It sucks, been there and bought the t-shirt . I'm going to get practical here so just remember don't take offense...my delivery can sound harsh.

You've just had a pathology report confirming cancerous lymph nodes...get the neck dissection. Trust me it'll be less painful then leaving it there and advancing to a terminal condition. Cancer in the lymph system can go distant in the body quickly and that's why they are going to remove not only the cancerous node but those around it that may have cancerous cells too small to be detected yet.

Imho its just smart, but if you are concerned about the pain factor they do have drugs to help with that. Many of us have had dissections and are alive because of them and can think of more painful moments to be sure.

Keep your chin up

Eric

Hi Roma

The reason they are opting for surgery to determine whether or not there is cancer there is because the only other way to test is by fine needle biopsy (FNA). As David has said, this type of procedure may miss a tiny remnant of cancer and give you a false clear result. If you didn't get another test (MRI, CT, PET) for months, those missed microscopic cancer cells would have been given time to grow and invade again, making surgery even more invasive and difficult.

Roma, I know you are both very disappointed and don't think you can do it again, but you can. Once you get over the shock and get used to the idea, you will both rally as you did before.

In the words of Gandalf the White in Lord of the Rings when faced with overwhelming odds against beating the enemy,
"Courage, Merry, courage"
By the way, Gandalf and Merry won the battle and went on to win the war.

Karen

There really is nothing left to say as everyone here has already said it - so I would like to wish you the luck, and say that I had a dissection 5 weeks ago and mostly I'm just numb.

Take care... I know the situation is terrible. But you can get through it.

Adding my 2 cents... My husband had a left-sided neck dissection when they found the cancer in the lymph node, to be sure to remove any questionable nodes adjacent to the infected one. Prior to this procedure, he had a FNA biopsy which came back inconclusive... I find it incredible as it was a 4cm node "almost completely consisting of squamous cell carcinoma"...

Recovery from the dissection was minor compared to the sinus surgery he had done at the same time. I don't know if it gives you any idea of how much pain...

My heart goes out to you! May your strength and health return with speed and your conviction remain strong!

Mrs. V sometimes a biopsy is only as good as the path doctor who is examining the results... Seriously - I am still trying to get over the fact that an MRI missed a 1.5 cm node... Seriously - it was there before the MRI that came back clean I could palpate it over a week before.

It's all about who is working the results...

Of course any medical test has the possibility of being misread. Just because it happened to one person does NOT mean it will happen in your situation. A biopsy is much more accurate tool used to detect cancer. Its NOT cancer til the biopsy says so.

I did not have radiation and my cancer was all on my tongue ..I had a very large area and had to have 3/4 of my tongue removed and replaced with a free flap from my arm. I also had 19 Lymph Nodes removed from my neck which on biopsied were all beneign. I have had no problems or pain after sugery. Just a large scar that has healed quite nicely.