Cancer Of The Tonsil

MY HUSBAND WAS IN 'NAM IN 67-68 AND WAS EXPOSED TO AGENT ORANGE. HE HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH TONSILLAR CANCER AND WILL BE OPERATED ON THE 5TH OF JUNE 2007. WE WILL KNOW THEN IF IT HAS SPREAD TO THE LYMPH NODES OR OTHER PLACES. WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS HAD ANY LUCK WITH THE VA ON COMPENSATION. HE ALSO HAS TINNITUS AND LOST ALL OF HIS TEETH. IS THIS, TOO, ASSOCIATED WITH AGENT ORANGE??  IF ANYONE CAN HELP WITH THESE QUESTIONS, PLEASE RESPOND.

THANK YOU,

JUDY

Your husband should be worked up prior to surgery with a PET /CT.  Tonsillar Carcinoma is well treated with chemo/rads and surgery is best reserved for persistent nect disease or salvage therapy.  I would recommend a feeding tube.  I am a VA provider and have filled out the forms for people with agent orange exposure and subsequent Head and Neck cancer.  Which VA and where are your located?

I would hold the surgery and get a Rad Onc/ Med Onc consult.  As above, depending on the stage the results are good to excellent with less morbidity.

On 6/3/2007 Witchdoctor wrote:

Your husband should be worked up prior to surgery with a PET /CT.  Tonsillar Carcinoma is well treated with chemo/rads and surgery is best reserved for persistent nect disease or salvage therapy.  I would recommend a feeding tube.  I am a VA provider and have filled out the forms for people with agent orange exposure and subsequent Head and Neck cancer.  Which VA and where are your located?

I would hold the surgery and get a Rad Onc/ Med Onc consult.  As above, depending on the stage the results are good to excellent with less morbidity.

TOO LATE!!! SURGERY HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND DR. SAID THAT HE GOT IT ALL.  WAITING FOR THE PATHOLOGY REPORT ON THE LYMPH NODES NOW. WILL FIND OUT ON THE 12TH OF JULY.  HE DID HAVE A PET SCAN AND IT CAME BACK NEG. FOR ANY CANCER ANYWHERE ELSE IN HIS BODY.  HE DOES HAVE A FEEDING TUBE AND IS LEARNING HOW TO SWALLOW.  WE HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET AS TO NOTIFYING THE VA OR FILLING OUT ANY PAPER WORK ON IT.  WE ARE LOCATED IN MARIETTA, OHIO.  HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF GUYS LOSING THEIR TEETH AND THEIR HEARING FROM BEING IN 'NAM?  A BAD THING HAPPENED TO HIM. HE DEVELOPED THRUSH IN HIS MOUTH WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL. THEY SAID THAT IT WASN'T THRUSH, BUT OUR FAMILY DR. SAID THA IT WAS AND HE IS BEING TREATED FOR THAT NOW. WITH NOT MUCH SUCCESS I MIGHT ADD. I AM WAITING FOR A CALL FROM THE DR. NOW TO TELL ME WHAT ELSE TO TRY TO GET RID OF IT. I EVEN HAVE HIM TRYING TO SWALLOW YOGURT, WHICH I HAVE HEARD IS SUPPOSE TO HELP THE THRUSH.

Hi Judy...

My father was in Nam those same years and was also exposed to agent orange.  Although my dad (age 65) has never had cancer, he does have a loss of teeth.  It might be a result of agent orange combined with a lack of good dental care.  As for the ringing in the ears, many vets have this...including my father.  That might be a result of the loud guns and bombs going off.  My father also uses VA, but I'm not sure what they cover and what they don't cover.

My husband was dx last year with stage 3 tonsil cancer (age 47,non-smoker/non-drinker).  We were told by a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in MN that he would try surgery first in hopes that they would get it all the first time (and followed by radiation), but he told us if they did do surgery first there would only be an 11% chance they would get it all.  We ended up choosing a hospital in Miami and going with radiation/chemo and no surgery was ever needed.

My husband is doing very well.  Treatment ended in late Feb.this year.  His taste is almost 90% back and saliva is about 80% returned, and the cancer is gone.

On 6/20/2007 Judy1000 wrote:

 

On 6/3/2007 Witchdoctor wrote:

Your husband should be worked up prior to surgery with a PET /CT.  Tonsillar Carcinoma is well treated with chemo/rads and surgery is best reserved for persistent nect disease or salvage therapy.  I would recommend a feeding tube.  I am a VA provider and have filled out the forms for people with agent orange exposure and subsequent Head and Neck cancer.  Which VA and where are your located?

I would hold the surgery and get a Rad Onc/ Med Onc consult.  As above, depending on the stage the results are good to excellent with less morbidity.

TOO LATE!!! SURGERY HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND DR. SAID THAT HE GOT IT ALL.  WAITING FOR THE PATHOLOGY REPORT ON THE LYMPH NODES NOW. WILL FIND OUT ON THE 12TH OF JULY.  HE DID HAVE A PET SCAN AND IT CAME BACK NEG. FOR ANY CANCER ANYWHERE ELSE IN HIS BODY.  HE DOES HAVE A FEEDING TUBE AND IS LEARNING HOW TO SWALLOW.  WE HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET AS TO NOTIFYING THE VA OR FILLING OUT ANY PAPER WORK ON IT.  WE ARE LOCATED IN MARIETTA, OHIO.  HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF GUYS LOSING THEIR TEETH AND THEIR HEARING FROM BEING IN 'NAM?  A BAD THING HAPPENED TO HIM. HE DEVELOPED THRUSH IN HIS MOUTH WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL. THEY SAID THAT IT WASN'T THRUSH, BUT OUR FAMILY DR. SAID THA IT WAS AND HE IS BEING TREATED FOR THAT NOW. WITH NOT MUCH SUCCESS I MIGHT ADD. I AM WAITING FOR A CALL FROM THE DR. NOW TO TELL ME WHAT ELSE TO TRY TO GET RID OF IT. I EVEN HAVE HIM TRYING TO SWALLOW YOGURT, WHICH I HAVE HEARD IS SUPPOSE TO HELP THE THRUSH.

On 6/1/2007 Judy1000 wrote:

MY HUSBAND WAS IN 'NAM IN 67-68 AND WAS EXPOSED TO AGENT ORANGE. HE HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH TONSILLAR CANCER AND WILL BE OPERATED ON THE 5TH OF JUNE 2007. WE WILL KNOW THEN IF IT HAS SPREAD TO THE LYMPH NODES OR OTHER PLACES. WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS HAD ANY LUCK WITH THE VA ON COMPENSATION. HE ALSO HAS TINNITUS AND LOST ALL OF HIS TEETH. IS THIS, TOO, ASSOCIATED WITH AGENT ORANGE??  IF ANYONE CAN HELP WITH THESE QUESTIONS, PLEASE RESPOND.

THANK YOU,

JUDY

Judy

    I was in Nam in 1965 and in 2001 I came down with tonsel cancer. I had radiation first for 12 weeks followed up by surgery to remove my juglar vein whick the cancer attached itself to. I had my tonsels removed prior to the radiation. I approched the VA and attempted to file a claim but was told that tonsel cancer was not on the list as being caused by Agent Orange. I understand that now it is being looked at by the VA as being caused by Agent Orange. If you hear anything about the VA approving the canser being caused by Agent Orange please let me know.

Ray

On 7/5/2007 Aloedrops wrote:

 

On 6/20/2007 Judy1000 wrote:

 

On 6/3/2007 Witchdoctor wrote:

Your husband should be worked up prior to surgery with a PET /CT.  Tonsillar Carcinoma is well treated with chemo/rads and surgery is best reserved for persistent nect disease or salvage therapy.  I would recommend a feeding tube.  I am a VA provider and have filled out the forms for people with agent orange exposure and subsequent Head and Neck cancer.  Which VA and where are your located?

I would hold the surgery and get a Rad Onc/ Med Onc consult.  As above, depending on the stage the results are good to excellent with less morbidity.

I have tonsil cancer and contacted the Institute of Medicine which is the agency examining the validity of agent orange tonsil cancer presumption. I was told the VA has not approved tonsil cancer for the list of presumptive cancers related to agent orange, however that all veterans should contact Mary Burr Paxton, PhD, DABT, Senior Program Officer, Population Health and Public Health Practice, Institute of Medicine, Keck 871, 500 5th Street NW, Washington DC 20001 telephone (202)334-1731 or fax (202)334-2939 or e-mail "Paxton,Mary" MPaxton@nas.edu with any info you can provide her with your reasoning for believing that your cancer may be related to agent orange contamination. Mary is working to develop a scientific base for the approval of tonsil cancer as related to agent orange contact.

TOO LATE!!! SURGERY HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND DR. SAID THAT HE GOT IT ALL.  WAITING FOR THE PATHOLOGY REPORT ON THE LYMPH NODES NOW. WILL FIND OUT ON THE 12TH OF JULY.  HE DID HAVE A PET SCAN AND IT CAME BACK NEG. FOR ANY CANCER ANYWHERE ELSE IN HIS BODY.  HE DOES HAVE A FEEDING TUBE AND IS LEARNING HOW TO SWALLOW.  WE HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET AS TO NOTIFYING THE VA OR FILLING OUT ANY PAPER WORK ON IT.  WE ARE LOCATED IN MARIETTA, OHIO.  HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF GUYS LOSING THEIR TEETH AND THEIR HEARING FROM BEING IN 'NAM?  A BAD THING HAPPENED TO HIM. HE DEVELOPED THRUSH IN HIS MOUTH WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL. THEY SAID THAT IT WASN'T THRUSH, BUT OUR FAMILY DR. SAID THA IT WAS AND HE IS BEING TREATED FOR THAT NOW. WITH NOT MUCH SUCCESS I MIGHT ADD. I AM WAITING FOR A CALL FROM THE DR. NOW TO TELL ME WHAT ELSE TO TRY TO GET RID OF IT. I EVEN HAVE HIM TRYING TO SWALLOW YOGURT, WHICH I HAVE HEARD IS SUPPOSE TO HELP THE THRUSH.

 

Is your husband having any trouble with dry mouth or throat after everything he's been through?  If so, you might want to check out aloedrops.com.  We made these for my mom after she had a lymphoma in her throat.  Also, three different people have told us that the oral lesions in their mouth healed after using these candies.  God bless.