How times change! I think that we go from one extreme to another without studying all the consequences. I was brought up in the era when if a child had frequent colds, coughs, a sore throat, etc., removing tonsils was the norm. The child was usually about 5-7 years old. To this day I can conjure up the smell of ether and counting backwards from one hundred....I was six. The whole procedure was over-kill and am sure there were hundreds of thousands of kids who didn't need this surgery.

So my tonsils have been removed along with the adenoids and I still developed tonsil cancer; in my case it was 'in the area where the tonsils are normally located.' No they didn't grow back. Explain that to friends my age who say with amazement, "Didn't you have them removed?" Well, yeah, but.....I dunno.

There has to be a middle ground where if a child has swollen nodes, sleep apnea, problems swallowing, etc., that tonsils are still removed. Now the number one reason for tonsil removal is airway obstruction..

Tonsil-Adenoid Surgery

I have no answers for you other than tonsil removal or not removing childhood tonsils seems to have little to do with future tonsil cancer. Maybe Dr. Joshi can comment on this? It's just my supposition. OTOH, if a child is increasingly miserable with tonsil problems, it appears that there's no reason not to remove them. All those kids in my era didn't die of tonsil cancer nor their removal - they had other issues.

Best of luck, Saudra. Hope you and DanaZ have positive outcomes and healthy children.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mimi McC,

Hello Mimi

Thanks for your sensible answer.

quote:

my tonsils have been removed along with the adenoids and I still developed tonsil cancer; in my case it was 'in the area where the tonsils are normally located.' No

I will have to ask my colleagues what % of tonsil cancers occur in 'tonsillected' sites.

Best wishes
Vinod

Hello:
I'm 44 years old. At 17 march I had a tonsillectomy for remove my right tonsil. Biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma.
It's possible to see 2 photos of my tonsil previous to the tonsillectomy.




The biopsy revealed that the tumor was not margins free. The tumos size was 4.5 x 2.5 cm. Now I must do a radiotherapy (IMRTmachine) and two cycles of 3 weeks of cisplatin.

Please any suggestions will be welcome.

I'm afraid.

Reason you can still develop tonsil cancer is because it isn't possible to remove the entire thing. You still have some tonsil left.
I took my 6 year old daughter to the hospital with a broken nose. They noticed a cyst in her nose and set up an appt. Day of visit the doctor stated that the cyst wasn't the real reason they wanted to see her. Dr. then pointed out that one tonsil is 3 times larger than the other. Dropped the words lymphoma and Leukemia on my wife then said see ya in Feb. As you can imagine this has us worried sick. My daughter does suffer from sleep apnea. She is underweight but rarely gets sick or complains. I wouldn't worry so much except she just finished an entire cycle of antibiotics for a nasal infection BEFORE the doctor pointed out the size.

Greetings,
I've got an assymetrical tonsil on the left-hand side. Seems to be 2 nodes on top of each other(not directly, but one above another on what seems like the w ring) when I depress my tongue down. I've felt the topmost one with my finger and it seems to be soft.. not sure about the other. I went to an ENT doc today and he wants to wait and see, saying that it's too difficult to do a good biopsy without a tonsilectomy.. He gave 5% odds that it's a malignancy-- odds i'm not liking!

i've noticed the lump since early october, with no growth that I can see.. it's smooth with blood vessels.. I'll try to take a photo, but it's like a ~1cm roundish potrusion without tongue depression, and looks about half that size when i depress the tongue down, and the w ring flaps back a bit. I'll try to take a photo..

I've had much difficulty finding information on tonsular lesions on the internet... no information on the onset time period, surface texture (read that SCC is supposably hard to the touch though).. Seems like the 2 nodes could be snipped off, but he talked as if only full tonsilectomy is the only option. Perhaps I should get a second opinion?

Also have seen this since October 1 2010, when I had a sore throat for 4,5 days.. again the size of the potrusions do not seem to be any larger than before.. no bleeding either, but I've had dull pain at times that radiates to the ear, and lump in throat sensation at times.. other times i feel nothing.. seems correlated to my anxiety level and recognition of my tonsil
Apologies if this is difficult to read
Rob

OK here's what I've got. The bottom node can't be seen, as it's in the sublingual area.. it looks relatively in line with the tonsil tissue on the other side, but it's still kind of lumpish, and blends into the upper node. I've touched it with my finger and it feels fleshy and soft.. moves around. Again, it's been this size since early October, when I had a 5 day sore throat. I could sear that I've seen this lump far before the paste few months, but I can't remember very well...

thats not actually on your tonsils, its in front of it on the side of your mouth, i would suggest an absess perhaps if it is soft, but still get it checked out.
actually asymmetrical tonsils is normally an absess, which can easily be drained and is sometimes not painful..with an absess a lot of times your uvula will be crooked as well.. when your glands swell so does your tonsils, sometimes one gland will swell and not the other, same with tonsils..

Danielle,

Great response but please give us some glimpse into your qualifications for answering rgl77's questions. Your profile indicates that you're not a cancer patient and that you are a student: Cosmetology? History? Medical? I think that in the US we have so many wannabe medical professionals that we're a bit leery of people with answers that appear from out of the blue, in your case, with a first post.

I would like to believe you because I was misdiagnosed over tonsil cancer (wasn't recognized until the third doc visit) and then was correctly diagnosed by an NP rather than my primary physician. My dentist and an ENT confimed her finding. Your diagnosis appears plausible but as our resident host, Dr. Joshi, replies: "Disclaimer: Please see your own dentist/doctor for a proper diagnosis as my words should not, in any circumstances, be taken as dental/medical advice."

You're giving an opinion, not diagnosing, but you're close. Please share your qualifications and look up how to spell 'abscess.'

Thanks!

Mimi (Mean Girl)

I wouldn't say it's not the tonsil, it's that the 2 protrusions are on the W ring fold when i depress the tongue; otherwise it appears behind it when my tongue is not depressed. There's a white spot that looks like a tonsillith above it also.. My dad is pressing me to go to another ENT and to get a tonsillectomy .. might just go ahead with that to remove the globus sensation.
Still not sure why this ENT wouldn't go for a biopsy, I dont think a FNA would be too difficult... a cytobrush is even easier. Perhaps it's hard to catch a cancerous lesion on a tonsil??

Hello rgl77

The area encircled does appear in front of the tonsil. The tonsil sits in a recess behind that fold.

It is hard to catch an early cancerous lesion in the tonsil and often a tonsil cancer occurs within a crypt in the tonsil with first presentation as a swollen lymph node in the neck with nothing abnormal to see in the mouth. The source of the primary is only discovered upon biopsy of the asymptomatic tonsil!

Best wishes

Vinod

Thanks Dr. Joshi, Danielle, Mimi. Took some more photos and made a little collage, just to have a record of what mine look like. I'm going to get a second opinion, and see what they think. I'll try to pass on the final verdict as well after everything is said and done. Thanks again