Squamous Cell Cancer of head and neck

Welcome Carolyn,
Please meet @mrsjhagen18 who has squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil and @lzzie who has squamous cell carcinoma of base of tongue. Also meet @sylviapf @lisa_sj99 @loli @alpaca and others who are talking about head and neck cancer here:

- Head and neck cancer http://mayocl.in/2eskY6G

Carolyn, have you and your son's care team looked into possible clinical trials? https://clinicaltrials.gov/

My surgeon was Dr.Jermy Richmond that is now in Boston practice. an excellent surgeon. I had squanous cell carcinoma of the base of the
tongue. In October I was suppose to have more tissue removed but can't get appointment until the end of March. Hummm.
Dr. Jeremy Richmon phone number and location in Boston is listed on internet. Don't know if this helps. I am sorry
that you are having to go through this..... We should be able on this site to put our heads together and come up with something.

Hello! First of all, excuse me for the grammar. I just wrote in Spanish and translate. Hope someone here can give me some advise. I will be very thankful 🥹.
My dad had a swollen node on the right side of his neck, which was operated on April 2022. When they did the biopsy, it came out to be positive, so they did a second surgery recently on June 9,2022 to clean the entire right area of ​​the neck that had the affected nodes(ganglion) don’t know if I am saying it correctly. . The biopsy this time turned out to be negative. Even so, the doctor recommend 33 radiation sections, one daily, leaving the weekend off. This is normal? Even though the biopsy was negative? How long should you start with the radiation after the surgery?The radiations must be without interruptions? That is, 33 continuously, just resting weekend? He lives in another country, but I want to bring him with me to the United States to do the radiation treatment here instead of our country.But I don't know right now how long he can go without starting his radiation treatment. And he can be here by the end of August after he gets his visa. I do not know what decision I should take .. someone who has experience in this. How long he can be fine before starting with radiotherapy?

I was diagnosed with tonsil cancer 7 years ago and the treatment was surgery then wait 5 weeks till the 33 radiations and 3 chemo treatments. Mine unfortunately spread to my lungs and I have been fighting that ever since with various treatments. I wish you the best!

Hola @hei. Feel free to respond in Spanish. It will be automatically translated for English speakers and vice versa.

It is common to have radiation 5 days a week and weekends off. It sounds like radiation has been recommended to make sure to kill any invisible cancer cells that may not have been removed by surgery. The length of time between surgery and radiation may differ from patient to patient.

If you would like to request an appointment for your father, you can do it online using this form in Spanish https://onlineservices.mayoclinic.org/NewAppointments/?v=int

Here is additional information in Spanish about Mayo Clinic's International Services: https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/departments-centers/international

May I ask what country he lives in? How is he doing?

Hi! Thank you so much for answering and also to @sammy15
My dad is still waiting for the radiotherapy treatment. it was suppose to start on July 4th, but the doctor recommended starting an antibiotic treatment first because he had a little redness in the inside part of the wound in one area. He said that is because is not healed 100 percent yet. He needs to go for a follow-up this coming Friday (July 8) also he started getting a medication through veins (it is a monoclonal antibody) that will be combined with the radiotherapy treatment. This monoclonal antibody will be subministered to him every Friday for 6 Fridays. He currently lives in Cuba. And we decided he needs to start the treatment there because it will take too much time for him to start treatment here in the US. and delaying this is not a good idea. He is doing fine right now, his surgery wound looks healthy, no pain. Will update as soon as he start radiotherapy. side effects, etc.
Thank you for everything. 🙂

Very New to all of this my Niece Leanna has recently found out she has Squamous Cell Carcinoma stage 3. About 6 weeks ago now in the last week I have moved her from San Antonio to my home to be her full-time caregiver. She has not seen a oncologist since she was diagnosed in the hospital we are jumping through hoops to get insurance for her to be seen by a PCP and then referred to an oncologist. Does anyone have experience with or have they gone through this? My question is this do you think it could have spread during the last 6 weeks? When she was diagnosed in the hospital they said it started in her left tonsil has spread to her lymph nodes like I say that's been about a month and a half now. Any advice or even just your story would be so helpful to me and her to be able to know what is ahead. Thank You 🎗️

I was diagnosed with stage 3 SCC last January. It ended up being sourced in the base of my tongue and had spread to my right neck lymph node. It ended up being more than 6 weeks before I was able to start treatments (first induction chemotherapy followed by radiation and chemotherapy). I completed my treatments in early September. My CT scan of my neck and tongue was clear. I’m awaiting a PET scan in December that I am confident will also be clear of cancer. I don’t believe the 6 weeks delay should be cause for additional stress. I will say that the treatment side effects were not easy, but one can make it through with support from loved ones and the knowledge that it is doing its job in saving your life. I hope this helps. God Bless.

Good Morning, So sorry to hear this, I had SCC Larynx Cancer, diagnosed Sept. 21. Stage 3, its a long process, got Biopsied in November, confirmed,, did not spread my ENT, Referred me to an Oncologist, started Radiation twice daily in late January for 7 weeks, no Chemo, as my kidneys aren't in the best of shape,I'm not on Dialysis, but want to avoid it, anyway your question, can it spread, I'm not a Dr. Obviously. All I can say is everyday that passes things yes can happen. As for Insurance, they have to except her, get Charity Care in the meanwhile...OK Radiation is rough, but honestly you get through it, in her case they may choose Chemoradiation, which is excellent as well, she's young..Well Radiation ended in 3/22/22 ..CT Scan and Scope as of October 22, no recurrence, but not to say it won't come back..Hopefully not, side effects are rough, can't deny it, well your Dr. Will tell you..Have to go for Scans every 3 months for the 1st year, my advice again. Please insist on having her seen asap & start treatment..I'm here for you, please keep us posted..Hugs ❤

Thank you so much for the kind words and jumping through this insurance Hoops is ridiculous one only one thing is holding me up to help her it is frustrating. Not to mention I am struggling with even though she is 41 she is hard to keep on track sometimes on the simplest task almost like her age is 41 but her brain is 12 and I'm sure that's part of her Mental Health I have just never known it to be to this degree so it seems as if the only one fighting for her life is me and to be brutally honest I am getting worn down by it like to the point if you're not going to fight why should I? Have you ever experienced that?