My Diagnosis

About 10 years ago I noticed a swollen gland in my neck that didn't go away. I mentioned it to my doctor and she sent me to a surgeon (I don't remember what kind). He examined me and said if I was his wife or daughter he would recommend that I just leave it alone, so I did. It never bothered me much and didn't seem to get much bigger. This past year my doctor commented on it as did my dentist so I figured I should have it looked at again. I went to an ENT, he ordered a CT scan and said there was a mass on my salivary gland (submandibular). He did a needle biopsy which didn't show malignancy, but he recommended we remove the gland anyway. So in February I had surgery and had it removed. When I went for my post-op appointment I was very surprised to hear that the mass on my gland was cancer, specifically Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. This is a rare, slow growing, persistent cancer. It travels along the nerves. The surgeon had the pathologist look at me while I was still in surgery and they both agreed that it had not invaded any of the nerves they could see. This cancer does not respond to chemotherapy, so that is not an option. I'm kind of relieved by that because the side effects of chemo are very scary to me. The standard of care is removal (check) and radiation. My surgeon "passed me off" to a radiation oncologist named Dr. Teng at Turville Bay here in Madison. He has been great. He looked at my neck CT and talked to my ENT and the pathologist. He sent me for blood tests, a dermatology check up (I have lots of moles and he wanted to be sure none were malignant, which could be made worse by background radiation), a dental check up, a chest CT, and a thyroid ultrasound. ACC tends to metastasize to the nerves and the lungs. By visual examination, the nerves in my neck are clear. By CT, my lungs are clear. So, I will start radiation treatment on Monday, the day after Easter, which seems poetic somehow. The treatment will be 5 days a week for six weeks.

Am I scared? Sometimes, but mostly not. I think part of the reason I'm somewhat calm about it all is because they took it out. The tumor is in a jar somewhere, or in the garbage maybe. The radiation treatment is basically a precaution. Just in case there are some little cancer cells lurking around. I have no illusions about this being the end of it. I'll have to get checked for the rest of my life and it will probably come back sometime in the future, but that's not now. Sufficient unto the day . . . For now, this is not going to kill me. It' s going to be an inconvenience and a test, but with the support of wonderful friends and family, we will all make it through.