u/Ok-Milk443

Background: my mum (60F) was diagnosed with T2N2 HPV16+ tonsil SCC with lymph node involvement in December 2025. Also diagnosed with hepatitis B at that time, was put on antivirals to control that during treatment. She went through treatment, 36 Radiation & 2 high dose Cisplatin (was too sick for the third) it was fairly rough on her. She suffered aspiration pneumonia atleast twice and nearly died the last time (found unresponsive & not breathing in hospital bed). We finally made it out the other side, on a feeding tube but still at home and back to nearly normal. Had her three month PETCT done last week. Visit with the radonc today, tonsil cancer is completely gone, but scan revealed three areas of uptake in the liver, indeterminate, ultrasound & biopsy (if masses are found) to follow. If cancerous (radonc said they’re pretty confident it is a spread) she’ll probably be put on immunotherapy, but we know nothing for sure yet, was told the medical oncologist will tell us more.
Has anyone else went through this and made it? Does anyone know the prognosis if it is a metastasis to the liver? I’ll be giving the nurses a call tomorrow, this honestly took us all by huge surprise and we were shocked, didn’t ask the important questions we should’ve asked, even walked out the hospital without scheduling the next appointment 🫠
Any advice is welcome. Thank you for reading

My mum(60F) had her 3 month post treatment(36RT & 2 Cisplatin) scan yesterday. I did try to ask the radiologist if it looks good, was told it’s illegal for them to comment on the scan, but the report will be sent to the consultant on Monday & we’re more than welcome to give them a call and ask them to comment on it. We have a consultant appointment two weeks from now. Would you wait or would you call? In two minds, I wouldn’t like to hear bad news over the phone but I know our heads will be wrecked if we wait the two weeks

Hi everyone. My mum (59Yo F) was diagnosed with HPV+ SCC of right tonsil with lymph node involvement, T2N2M0, in December 2025. She began treatment in late March, plan was 3 rounds of high dose cisplatin and 35 RT. She completed 2 out of 3 chemos, last one was cancelled, and 34 out of 35 RT’s. Her last one was supposed to be yesterday. She started spiking fevers & chest infections after every chemo session, first she was admitted for a week on IV antibiotics. She started having mucous and a cough then that hasn’t left since. A week after 2nd chemo once again temperature spike, legs swelled out, found fluid on lungs, hospital admission, 5 days antibiotic treatment, was going in the right direction but hasn’t been let home since. About 6 days after antibiotics finished she spiked another fever, antibiotics started again (believe it was Taz each time), bloods started improving, speech and language therapist suspected its aspiration pneumonia and been NPO since. NG tube fitted, she started vomiting the next night. Feeds reduced and anti nausea meds charted. This brings us up to Thursday just gone.
Friday morning I got a call of the hospital she was admitted in. I was told that nurse went to administer antibiotics at 6am, came back at 6:30 to check vitals and found her unresponsive and not breathing. O2 stats 65% on room air, temp 38.2C. Was given paracetamol, gentamicin and hydrocortisone. They stabilised her on 12L/min oxygen, didn’t need CPR, she came to by herself thankfully. She was transferred to a bigger hospital by ambulance an hour later, met her in critical care ED, later that day transferred upstairs to oncology.
She’s been on oxygen ever since. Chest x-ray suggests severe pneumonia, was told possible sepsis but that hasn’t been mentioned since.
She’s very flegmy, barely able to bring it up & when it does come it it’s yellow/green with bright red blood.
The NG tube has been taken out and replaced twice since it came out on its own while she was coughing, she felt the feed go down the wrong way (on pump), so we feel like that’s unsafe now because of aspiration risk.
I stayed with her last night, she went to the bathroom this morning and when she came back she was very weak and oxygen stat 60%. She can’t leave her bed.
The consultant came around shortly after that, said she’s being treated for a blood clot in the lungs until they’re able to rule it out via CT. She’s also on piptaz I believe and vancomycin.
I guess my question is does this sound like a blood clot? Is it something that she’ll come out of? Is this cureable? Will she be okay? We’re all very scared. Obviously it’s the weekend so she’s not being seen by her regular doctor, that’ll happen on Monday, until then we’re terrified and sleeping on the floor beside her bed incase something goes the wrong way.

EDIT TO ADD
72kg, 170cm
Her regular medications include entecavir 0.5mg for HEP B, she’s been switched to 40mg Oxycodone/24hrs via pump (was on 70mg on Thursday, switched because she didn’t seem herself at all, fairly dopey and sleepy on it), lansoprazole (I think ) for stomach protection, escitalopram 15mg, metoclopramide added on 13/5, I think some laxatives aswell.