The Taber Family Blog

Today I reviewed my MRI results with Dr. Woolf. Essentially the results indicate the tumor is discreet and there isn’t any involvement yet with my lymph glands below my jaw. This is good. It also means that the suggested radiation and chemo treatment made by Dr. Woolf would still be valid with surgery not being likely.

The tumor is not in my parapharyngial space as originally thought, but more localized to the area around my right tonsil. In terms of the TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) system, my tumor is rated as a T2 N0 M0 S2, or stage II tumor, size being a 2, with no metastasis and no lymph involvement at this point. It’s about an inch or so in diameter, maybe a bit larger.

Dr. Woolf is recommending that I be seen by the Stanford Medical Center’s Tumor Board for a collective assessment and treatment plan. The Stanford Tumor Board consists of “specialists from Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Radiology and Pathology that evaluate and discuss patients for whom a multidisciplinary approach is being considered.” He’s not sure Blue Cross will allow this yet, but said he’ll push for it to be covered. Sounds like a good idea to me, since this would take the idea of a second opinion even farther.