Hello Everyone. I have been diagnosed with stage 4A Tonsillar Cancer (squamous [...]

Seth,
I'm Carol, one of the moderators here. Believe me, the explanation of what basaloid features means isn't easily understood. It's NOT important in this discussion. It just means you have a variation of squamous cell tonsillar cancer. It's very rare, in a case study from the NIH, they could only find 14 cases written up in medical literature. I'm wondering if your HIV status is a factor.
You've got a lot going on and I'm not surprised to hear you're confused and anxious. I don't like to hear that doctors say, "I don't know." in response to medical questions. If it's said, right behind that should be "But I'll find out and tell you.". You mention an ENT and a radiation oncologist, are you also seeing a (medical) oncologist? Who will be ordering and monitoring your response to chemotherapy? If you haven't had a second opinion visit, you should, hopefully with an oncologist for head and neck cancers.
Having a partner who isn't supportive certainly won't be helpful, will he attend support group meetings or go to counseling with you? You need to have someone to talk to about those issues. The same goes for family. Many in my extended family are useless when serious medical problems occur.
About the statistics, whatever you read is old. Pay attention to dates. If someone compiled statistics for overall survival of 5 years, that indicates that those statistics deal with people who were treated at least 5 years ago. It can take a year to analyze the results of treatment(s) and compile results, then it takes time to publish them.
New treatments, procedures, and strategies are kicking cancer's butt. With statistics, half of the people lived less than the median number, and the other half lived longer. Given where your tumor is, opting to do nothing to improve quality of life isn't really an option for you right now. Swallowing and breathing can be impaired. The good news I read seems to show that this cancer does often respond to treatment fairly well. Getting the port and the feeding tubes are steps toward good treatment.
Carol

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Seth,
I'm Carol, one of the moderators here. Believe me, the explanation of what basaloid features means isn't easily understood. It's NOT important in this discussion. It just means you have a variation of squamous cell tonsillar cancer. It's very rare, in a case study from the NIH, they could only find 14 cases written up in medical literature. I'm wondering if your HIV status is a factor.
You've got a lot going on and I'm not surprised to hear you're confused and anxious. I don't like to hear that doctors say, "I don't know." in response to medical questions. If it's said, right behind that should be "But I'll find out and tell you.". You mention an ENT and a radiation oncologist, are you also seeing a (medical) oncologist? Who will be ordering and monitoring your response to chemotherapy? If you haven't had a second opinion visit, you should, hopefully with an oncologist for head and neck cancers.
Having a partner who isn't supportive certainly won't be helpful, will he attend support group meetings or go to counseling with you? You need to have someone to talk to about those issues. The same goes for family. Many in my extended family are useless when serious medical problems occur.
About the statistics, whatever you read is old. Pay attention to dates. If someone compiled statistics for overall survival of 5 years, that indicates that those statistics deal with people who were treated at least 5 years ago. It can take a year to analyze the results of treatment(s) and compile results, then it takes time to publish them.
New treatments, procedures, and strategies are kicking cancer's butt. With statistics, half of the people lived less than the median number, and the other half lived longer. Given where your tumor is, opting to do nothing to improve quality of life isn't really an option for you right now. Swallowing and breathing can be impaired. The good news I read seems to show that this cancer does often respond to treatment fairly well. Getting the port and the feeding tubes are steps toward good treatment.
Carol

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Seth,
I'm Carol, one of the moderators here. Believe me, the explanation of what basaloid features means isn't easily understood. It's NOT important in this discussion. It just means you have a variation of squamous cell tonsillar cancer. It's very rare, in a case study from the NIH, they could only find 14 cases written up in medical literature. I'm wondering if your HIV status is a factor.
You've got a lot going on and I'm not surprised to hear you're confused and anxious. I don't like to hear that doctors say, "I don't know." in response to medical questions. If it's said, right behind that should be "But I'll find out and tell you.". You mention an ENT and a radiation oncologist, are you also seeing a (medical) oncologist? Who will be ordering and monitoring your response to chemotherapy? If you haven't had a second opinion visit, you should, hopefully with an oncologist for head and neck cancers.
Having a partner who isn't supportive certainly won't be helpful, will he attend support group meetings or go to counseling with you? You need to have someone to talk to about those issues. The same goes for family. Many in my extended family are useless when serious medical problems occur.
About the statistics, whatever you read is old. Pay attention to dates. If someone compiled statistics for overall survival of 5 years, that indicates that those statistics deal with people who were treated at least 5 years ago. It can take a year to analyze the results of treatment(s) and compile results, then it takes time to publish them.
New treatments, procedures, and strategies are kicking cancer's butt. With statistics, half of the people lived less than the median number, and the other half lived longer. Given where your tumor is, opting to do nothing to improve quality of life isn't really an option for you right now. Swallowing and breathing can be impaired. The good news I read seems to show that this cancer does often respond to treatment fairly well. Getting the port and the feeding tubes are steps toward good treatment.
Carol

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Is the Chemo really a necessity ??? I only ask Because I went through Head Neck & throat cancer.....If I had to do over I never do Chemo again. I had radiation.....The Chemo is Pure Poison......Please I'm not a doctor and you need to do what's best for your situation..........Prayers go with you.

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Is the Chemo really a necessity ??? I only ask Because I went through Head Neck & throat cancer.....If I had to do over I never do Chemo again. I had radiation.....The Chemo is Pure Poison......Please I'm not a doctor and you need to do what's best for your situation..........Prayers go with you.

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Is the Chemo really a necessity ??? I only ask Because I went through Head Neck & throat cancer.....If I had to do over I never do Chemo again. I had radiation.....The Chemo is Pure Poison......Please I'm not a doctor and you need to do what's best for your situation..........Prayers go with you.

Jump to this post

Is the Chemo really a necessity ??? I only ask Because I went through Head Neck & throat cancer.....If I had to do over I never do Chemo again. I had radiation.....The Chemo is Pure Poison......Please I'm not a doctor and you need to do what's best for your situation..........Prayers go with you.

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