Squamous cell carcinoma: How did this happen?

Hello @redroadbutterfly and welcome to the Head and Neck Cancer group, not that this is anyone's goal in life to be here. Squamous Cell Carcinoma or SCC is not necessarily related to sun exposure because typically Squamous cells are "skin" cells inside the body such as the mouth, nose, throat, etc.
As far as what is best for pain relief on a lump I assume is from the biopsy, I have three doctors with three different theories on that subject. Cold eases pain and swelling but prevents healing. Heat aids healing but does little to reduce swelling. Maybe a combination of both. I think a little massage every hour would help as well but I am an engineer, not a doctor although I have had my lumps over the years.
Anyway, If in the coming months as your battle commences, don't hesitate to reach out to this group with questions or help with dealing with the whole situation. We have all been through this. It can be a tough fight but usually winnable. If you can get the biopsy typed, some such as HPV 16+ are quite successfully cured with less invasive procedures. Many advances in this area in the past twenty years.
Make certain your oncologist is well versed in head and neck cancers, not just cancer treatment in general. Head and neck has specific life quality requirements. Don't be shy about asking for the best or most experienced here. This is your life and that is more important than anything. Courage.

Thank you so much William, much appreciation. My primary care doctor told me the Oncologist I’m to see on Tuesday the 14th of October is indeed specialized in my case. The needle biopsy aggravated and it hurts so looking forward to the next steps. I want to beat this for sure! Thanks again for your input!

I assume you had a lump come up on your neck? It sounds like with the PET scan they are trying to determine where your tumor is? If you have a lump normally the cancer to close by but not always. Here is my shory story if it helps you any. I had a lump come up on my neck. I had ultrasound and then a cable biopsy. I was diagnosed with HPV16+ OSCC in March 2023 through the biopsy. Yes the biopsy aggravated my lump and I iced it to little effect. ENT Scope found the tumor at base of tongue. I decided to have surgery to remove . I had TORS robotic surgery April 2023. I had a right neck dissection as well with all lymph nodes removed and TORS surgery to remove primary tumor of 3cm at base of tongue. All margins clear. Also, I completed 30 rounds of Proton Radiation August 2023. As of today I am about 90% back to normal. This May or may not be a long journey for you but you WILL get through it. Fear of the unknown is in us all. Trust in your faith. I continue to have scans every 4 months and have remained cancer free.

My diagnosis was almost identical to yours. I had the same tests,scans, biopsy etc. My Mayo team recommended not go the surgery rout. I had radiation and chemo over a 7 week period. The last 3 weeks of treatment got progressively more painful and then slowly I began to feel better 2-3 months post treatment, I am 18 month out and feel better than pre-cancer probably because i pay attention to diet and exercise. Hang in there this type of cancer is beatable.

Hello @redroadbutterfly, and welcome to Connect, although I am sorry that your cancer diagnosis is what brought you here. SCC is most commonly a skin cancer from sun exposure, but it is also related to smoking and alcohol exposure in the mouth and GI tract and other external toxins and irritants. There is likely a genetic component as well. Mine started deep in my ear canal where no sun ever shone, and was skin origin. But as a veterinarian, I had plenty of radiation exposure holding animals for x-rays. Also my father and mother both had SCC, one from smoking and alcohol orally and the other just skin from sun exposure.
I used ice and pain patches for pain control prior to surgery. Mine was invading bone so very painful and required both Tylenol and Ibuprofen around the clock. I used topical pain relief quite successfully in the form of Salonpas patches at night and Biofreeze or Salonpas roll-on during the day.
I agree with @hrhwilliam about checking for HPV type if this is a mucous membrane origin from inside the body. If it is skin origin then it will not be HPV related. The biopsy will demonstrate the origin. Skin SCC tends to respond differently than mucous membrane origin so treatment recommendations can be different. Having someone who specializes in head and neck cancer is important. We have no such specialist in NW Ohio so I travel to Mayo in Rochester MN for treatment. I have done this for 12 years now and am still alive thanks to their medical care and despite metastatic disease.
We are here to share experiences and learn from each other. How soon is your scan scheduled? Waiting is so hard. One of the things I love about Mayo....... things happen quickly.

Hi I’m new to the group, I was diagnosed in 2011 with head and neck cancer, and just recently is diagnosed with SCC, of the tongue, I had radiation for the first cancer, don’t think I can go through that again with this cancer, too sensitive, my husband and my mom was my support, but they are deceased so I’m not wanting to go through this without my support system, is there anything I can use for the painful ear aches, hurts so bad?

Are your ear aches due to the tongue cancer? What does your doctor prescribe for it? My cancer being in my ear, I had constant pain as it grew into bone there. I took both Tylenol and Motrin around the clock. To sleep at night I used a small Salonpas pain patch in front of and behind my ear. Pain wasn't gone but much more tolerable. There are many local pain treatments directed toward arthritis but they can help to intercept pain from any source. Biofreeze, Salonpas, Aspercreme with Lidocaine, and Zim's Max Freeze are a few that I use successfully.

I also have allergies I get injections once a week, I take nasal sprays in between getting the allergy shots, it helps temporarily. I was just diagnosed on the 11 of this month, with SCC, but they are not saying if the SCC is causing the pain, I’ll see my dr this week to discuss treatments, and pain management.

@redroadbutterfly, have you met with the cancer team to discuss a treatment plan? How are you doing?

@mytime62, I can imagine your hesitancy to want radiation again. Were you able to tell your team that you'd like to hear about other possible treatment options? Have you found something that helps manage the pain until your appointment next week?