All You Need to Know About Head and Neck Cancer


Head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer is a group of cancer. It starts at the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, sinuses, salivary glands, etc. More than 803% of head and neck cancers are linked to excessive tobacco use. Around 75% is attributed to tobacco and alcohol usage.
The head and neck tumors are very curable provided detected early.

Symptoms: The following symptoms you will get head and neck cancer are:-

      Unhealthy Ulcer
      Chronic Sore Throat
      Difficulty in Swallowing
      Leukoplakia (with patches in mouth)
      Change of voice

Types of Head and Neck Cancer:

Types of Head and Neck Cancer


Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer:

The larynx is also called a voice box. This tube-shaped organ is located at the top of the windpipe. The organ helps in breathing, talking and swallowing.

Nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer:

The nasal the cavity is just behind the nose and air passes through it. The paranasal sinuses are the air-filled areas that surround the nasal cavity.

Nasopharyngeal cancer:

The nasopharynx is the air passageway at the upper part of the throat behind the nose.

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer:

The oral cavity includes the mouth and tongue. The oropharynx is the middle of the throat, from the tonsils to the tip of the voice box.

Salivary gland cancer:

The salivary gland’s main job is to produce saliva. Saliva is released into the mouth to keep it moist. It contains enzymes that break down food. There is an acid element in them. Saliva is the main fluid that starts operating when food is swallowed by the mouth.

Head and Neck Cancer Treatment:

Surgery:

It is a first-line treatment option for Head and neck cancer. Also, the combination of radiation therapy or chemotherapy will be used.

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy treatments for head and neck cancer are used for patients, where the tumors are spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells and is used as stand-alone or in combination as multimodality treatment. It is a painless procedure.

Radiation therapy:

This therapy uses a high dose of radiation towards the tumor cells. This technology does not damage healthy tissues and organs. But, only targets the affected parts. Most of the doctors advise this radiation therapy to patients. Patients may suffer pain but will be relieved as the therapy is very effective in killing cancer cells.

New treatments

Immunotherapy:

It is associated with minimal side effects and has excellent outcomes in the correctly chosen(as per indication) patient. These drugs called checkpoint inhibitors are into disrupting proteins that the cancer cells use to disguise themselves from the immune system. This drug locates the cancer cells and disarmed them.

Molecular Targeted therapy:

These drugs block cancer’s growth activity. They attack the very means of specific proteins that help the cancer cells grow and expand and spread to the other parts of the body. It is a very strong drug and contributes to the cancer treatment by finishing of the cancer cells.

In India, the head and cancer patients are growing day by day. The government of India and the world have taken a lot of precautions and always advertise about not indulging in chewing tobacco. The populace of chewing tobacco is helpless by virtue of their daily jobs. The cab drivers, rickshaw drivers and people who work in factories, industrial units are prone to this dangerous habit and are prone to get affected by head and neck cancer. The rich and famous also indulge in tobacco chewing and alcohol consumption by virtue of habit and are also prone to this disease.
We can all take responsibility and avoid tobacco to help prevent cancer.

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