Just a bit of info required . I had a partial glossectomy and lymph nodes removed just under 12 months ago. I have check ups every 2 months at the moment which just consist of physical examination of my neck and mouth. What I want to know is is this normal or do other people have tests such as scans to see if there has been any spread of the cancer.

Hi Judda

Welcome to our elite little club that no one wants to join.

Congratulations on making it this far! Your doctor might also have you get an annual chest x-ray as the most likely place for head & neck cancer to spread, I've been told, is the lungs.

At the moment, every two months is prudent to make sure that you're healing properly, and followups will be further apart over time (I'm nearly 7 years post-op and see my doctor annually).

The only post-op test I've had was a biopsy of some of the scar tissue on my tongue very early on; turned out fine. If he/she finds something troubling, I;m sure that more testing would be ordered.

How have you been doing--did you need rt or chemo?

I hope I answered your question. There are lots of helpful, friendly folks on the site.

Julia

Hi Judda,

I had partial glossectomy, lymph nodes and gland removed nearly 4 years ago now. I am now on 4 monthly checkups, where they just give me a physical examination of the neck and mouth.

I have read posts on here where people have scans at check ups but the only time I had a scan was when I was having a problem and they just wanted to check for any re-occurance, but everything was fine.

I would assume a decision on whether or not they give you scans at checkups either six monthly or annually would depend on perhaps how aggresive the cancer was, how successful in their opinion the operation was and whether or not you had chemo and/or rt.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

Sue

Thanks Sue just wanted confirmation really. After the op. And radiotherapy just having my neck pressed every 2 months seems a bit basic. I presume if one has further symptoms it is taken further. Thanks for your answer all the best.

Thanks for the answer Julia everything seems ok up to now . I'm on 2 monthly checks so hopefully I won't need anything other than a physical examination.I had partial glossectomy with a flap from my wrist and removal of lymph nodes from my neck , 2 of which were positive so I had to have radiotherapy, great fun that was.

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