Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

This cancer occurs in various tissues that are present in the head and throat. It affects the nose, mouth, throat, salivary gland, voice box and other soft surfaces of the body. 

It is estimated that approx., 9 lakhs people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer all around the world. They are looking for the best treatment for head and neck cancer. Early detection and choosing the right treatment is very important to get rid of this cancer.

Types of Head and Neck Cancer

This type of cancer has many types which are named on the basis which area gets affected and these are as follows:- 

• Mouth Cancer
• Hypopharyngeal Cancer
• Throat Cancer
• Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer
• Salivary Gland Cancer
• Nasopharyngeal Cancer
• Laryngeal Cancer
• Nose & Sinus Cancer 

How is Head and Neck Cancer Caused?

There are some reasons which increase the risk of causing head and neck cancer.

• The strain of HPV-16 virus causes oropharyngeal cancer at the tongue’s base.
• A person who frequently chews betel nuts can develop oral cancer.
• The risk of salivary gland cancer is increased when you over exposed to the  radiation therapy.
• Paranasal sinus and nasal cavity can develop cancer in those people who come in contact with dangerous substances. These are wood dust, asbestos and formaldehyde.

Signs & Symptoms

You can identify its symptoms easily because it may occur in particular areas of the head and neck. And these may vary from individual to individual.

• Continuous pain and swelling in the neck and throat
• Difficulty in hearing.
• Sore jaws
• Pain and bleeding in the mouth
• Red or white patches on the gums.
• Nose bleeding
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Pain in upper teeth
• Headache
• Having difficulty breathing and speaking due to pain in the vocal box
• Pain in ears

Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

Patient should consider are some points before starting the treatment and these are as follows:-

Diagnostic of Head & Neck Cancer

Some diagnostic tests are run by a doctor to detect Head and Neck Cancer in patients. These are as follows:-

• CT Scan
• Physical Examination
• Endoscopy
• MRI
• X-Rays
• HPV test
• Biopsy

Stages of Head and Neck Cancer

There are certain stages of cancer which show its severity.

1) Stage 1 – It is a starting phase of cancer which has fair chances to become cancerous.

2) Stage 2 – Early stage of cancer and at this stage the size of a tumor cell is about 2 cm.

3) Stage 3 – The size of a tumor cell is between 2 to 4 cm.

Note: At above stages, cancer is not reached to the lymph node.

4) Stage 4 – The size of a cancerous cell is more than 3 cm and at this stage cancer begins to reach the lymph node.

5) Stage 5 – In this advanced stage, the cancer spreads to various tissues of the head and neck.

Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

There are some best treatment options to get better results. This planning will help a patient to fight against cancer and live a healthy life.

• Surgery – In this procedure large parts of cancerous cells of lymph nodes are removed.
• Chemotherapy – It helps to stop abnormal growth of tissues by using anti-cancer drugs. These medicines are given intravenously to the individuals.
• Immunotherapy – It helps to prepare and boost the immune system of the body to fight against cancer by destroying the tumor cells. 
• Radiotherapy – In this treatment cancerous cells are exposed to a high energy beam of radiation to shrink them. It is combined with surgery or chemotherapy.
• Targeted Therapy – There are tumor specific proteins, genes etc., which promote cancer in head and neck. So these drugs target cancer specific areas and halt their growth. When chemoradiation does not work then Cetuximab medication is used in this therapy.