As you all know Matt underwent neck surgery last Friday. (Oct. 23). Our fab ENT doctor/surgeon, Dr. W (Matt calls him Doogie Houser and plays the theme song from that TV show every time the poor guy walks into the room. See photo of him and Matt pre-surgery.), told us he thought the growth (which appeared about 3 1/2 wks prior) would be most likely a cyst of some type, but he warned us there could be a chance that it was something else. This after 2 CTs and while watching what started out the size of a marble grow to a mass bigger than a walnut over just a couple weeks.
He told us the process would be that once they had Matt in surgery and removed the mass, they would fast-track (my words, not his) a biopsy of the growth. He thought it unlikely it was any thing to worry about, this given Matt's general health, what he could see in the CT as well as what he saw in the needle biopsy sample he took earlier but still we really didn't know and he wanted the mass out, now.
If the mass came back problematic, he would then do what is called a full neck dissection (doesn't that sound pleasant) and take out all of the lymph nodes on the right side of Matt's neck, as well as samples/biopsies from Matt's throat, tonsils, mouth, etc. etc. The surgery would take a couple hours if no issues, but if they did find something it could be longer. (A Cathy Note: Matt was in surgery for 5 hours and I was truly ready to climb the walls!!!! That was a long flipping time I thought and worried about complications...Dr. W said it just took that long 'cause he didn't have a resident to work with. Michelle - where the heck were you?! Just kidding...)
Anyway, you all know what happened next, the biopsy came back indicating there was cancer present, specifically squamous cell carcinoma - which is a form of skin cancer, and is usually localized - the best we can understand it! - to the mouth, neck, nose areas. Also it turns out the mass (we call it, affectionately, the "pomegranate" - see the photo)
is actually a lymph node, not a cyst or distinct tumor per se. As such, they widened his incision and scooped out his lymph nodes on that side of his neck, plus took biopsies of his throat, tonsils, back of his nose, etc. When Matt came out of anaesthesia the worse part of it all, hands down he says, was the pain in his throat from the biopsies. He says its like having a uber case of strep throat.
He ended up with 2 neck tubes/pump thingies to help drain the wound (Madalyn thinks these are particularly lovely - NOT); one came out on Saturday but we came home on Sunday (a very happy moment!!) with the second one still in, with directions for care, etc. Also ye old handy dandy bag of drugs - antibiotics, pain meds, etc. etc. The pump was a pain in the neck, no pun intended, as we had to be sure the dogs didn't try to get too excited or try to climb into Matt's lap from the right side, etc. etc. but it worked out okay and MAN did it feel good to be home!
Before we left and actually over the time Matt was in the hospital, Dr. W was able to share more information with us and tell us about next steps. The first big next step was getting the biopsies back as they would, hopefully, tell us where the cancer is originating from. Evidently the bad lymph node indicates cancer but it is not cancerous itself per se. He also wanted us to get Matt's lungs double checked with a pulminolgist (sp?) as there had been spots indicated in Matt's lungs by one of the CT's, but he and others told us that this was not uncommon and we had not been concerned about those - until learning that the neck mass was cancerous.
The other step to locating the cancer is is doing a PET scan - which is essentially injecting Matt with some special dye, and having his body scanned. The dye fluoresces where cells are dividing/there is cellular activity and, as cancer cells tend to be busy dividing, this is another way to visually see where cancer might be present. We can't do this test, however, until Matt's neck is healed, so in about 4 weeks.
Dr. W also wanted us to see a radiologist oncologist (another ENT specialist, Dr. H), as evidently the treatment for cancer of this type and location is radiation therapy. HOPEFULLY the biopsies would help pinpoint the cancer and if and as such they would be able to treat it with very focused, targeted radiation. Otherwise, the treatment is still radiation but it would be more general - basically radiating the mouth/neck/nose area which is less than ideal. We learned more about this on Tuesday; see that post.
So, this is the "beginning" - it's a lot to take in (for us and for you I know!)...Onward and upward...We are hanging in there; frankly, getting caught up on sleep is priority. We are both exhausted.....Cathy
He told us the process would be that once they had Matt in surgery and removed the mass, they would fast-track (my words, not his) a biopsy of the growth. He thought it unlikely it was any thing to worry about, this given Matt's general health, what he could see in the CT as well as what he saw in the needle biopsy sample he took earlier but still we really didn't know and he wanted the mass out, now.
If the mass came back problematic, he would then do what is called a full neck dissection (doesn't that sound pleasant) and take out all of the lymph nodes on the right side of Matt's neck, as well as samples/biopsies from Matt's throat, tonsils, mouth, etc. etc. The surgery would take a couple hours if no issues, but if they did find something it could be longer. (A Cathy Note: Matt was in surgery for 5 hours and I was truly ready to climb the walls!!!! That was a long flipping time I thought and worried about complications...Dr. W said it just took that long 'cause he didn't have a resident to work with. Michelle - where the heck were you?! Just kidding...)
Anyway, you all know what happened next, the biopsy came back indicating there was cancer present, specifically squamous cell carcinoma - which is a form of skin cancer, and is usually localized - the best we can understand it! - to the mouth, neck, nose areas. Also it turns out the mass (we call it, affectionately, the "pomegranate" - see the photo)
is actually a lymph node, not a cyst or distinct tumor per se. As such, they widened his incision and scooped out his lymph nodes on that side of his neck, plus took biopsies of his throat, tonsils, back of his nose, etc. When Matt came out of anaesthesia the worse part of it all, hands down he says, was the pain in his throat from the biopsies. He says its like having a uber case of strep throat.He ended up with 2 neck tubes/pump thingies to help drain the wound (Madalyn thinks these are particularly lovely - NOT); one came out on Saturday but we came home on Sunday (a very happy moment!!) with the second one still in, with directions for care, etc. Also ye old handy dandy bag of drugs - antibiotics, pain meds, etc. etc. The pump was a pain in the neck, no pun intended, as we had to be sure the dogs didn't try to get too excited or try to climb into Matt's lap from the right side, etc. etc. but it worked out okay and MAN did it feel good to be home!
Before we left and actually over the time Matt was in the hospital, Dr. W was able to share more information with us and tell us about next steps. The first big next step was getting the biopsies back as they would, hopefully, tell us where the cancer is originating from. Evidently the bad lymph node indicates cancer but it is not cancerous itself per se. He also wanted us to get Matt's lungs double checked with a pulminolgist (sp?) as there had been spots indicated in Matt's lungs by one of the CT's, but he and others told us that this was not uncommon and we had not been concerned about those - until learning that the neck mass was cancerous.
The other step to locating the cancer is is doing a PET scan - which is essentially injecting Matt with some special dye, and having his body scanned. The dye fluoresces where cells are dividing/there is cellular activity and, as cancer cells tend to be busy dividing, this is another way to visually see where cancer might be present. We can't do this test, however, until Matt's neck is healed, so in about 4 weeks.
Dr. W also wanted us to see a radiologist oncologist (another ENT specialist, Dr. H), as evidently the treatment for cancer of this type and location is radiation therapy. HOPEFULLY the biopsies would help pinpoint the cancer and if and as such they would be able to treat it with very focused, targeted radiation. Otherwise, the treatment is still radiation but it would be more general - basically radiating the mouth/neck/nose area which is less than ideal. We learned more about this on Tuesday; see that post.
So, this is the "beginning" - it's a lot to take in (for us and for you I know!)...Onward and upward...We are hanging in there; frankly, getting caught up on sleep is priority. We are both exhausted.....Cathy
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