I am 53 y.o male. About Feb. 07 I had a swollen lymph node on the side of my neck. Test showed scc in the tonsils had them removed. The swollen lymph node went down, and have only had mild pain in the throat, neck area. I was to get radiation and chemo plus have about 6 good teeth removed in june 07. I put it off, not wanting to remove my teeth.The doctor then no longer wanted to treat me.Dec. 07 I went to another cancer center who said my teeth could stay and that I only needed radiation.I was to start Jan. 08. I delayed, not wanting the pain and destruction, and did have a delay because of a needed root canal.I was to start again Feb. 25,08 but insisted on a new ct scan to see if any changes were needed. The new scan showed the one lymph node down in size from 1.? cm to 10 x 12 mm. The tech that made the scan report said the reduction in size was likely from therapy/treatment which I had not had. I am thinking if this is shrinking and no evidence is seen anywhere else that I can just monitor the situation and act if needed. I assume if I get a new scan every 6 months or so and something shows up then it will be caught early. Looks to me like I am doing Ok compared to some other people with the same condition.I understand the the general thought is, if you have scc you need radiation. The primay was tonsils that has been removed. The node is shrinking to almost nothing? I was to start again today, Monday but put it off after seeing the new report. What would you do?
Thanks, Alan