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Throat Cancer
Meg Klein
Overview-Throat Cancer is a cancer that forms in the pharynx, which is a hallow
tube inside the neck that starts behind the nose and ends at the top of the
windpipe. Throat cancer can also affect the nasopharynx, the upper part of the
throat, oropharynx, the middle of your throat and hypopharynx, the bottom part
of your throat. Cancer in the voice box is also a type of throat cancer. Throat
cancer is normally flat thin cells that look like fish scales, this is called squamous
cell carcinomas.
New cases in 2012-17,870
Deaths 2012-5,980
Diagnosis-To be diagnosed with throat cancer doctors may do a:
Endoscopic Exam-which is when a small camera goes down your throat,
this allows the doctor to see parts of the throat that would normally not be seen.
Biopsy-which is when a doctor takes a small sample of tissue from the
affected area and runs tests and analyzes it to determine what is wrong.
Imaging testing-which is when MRI’s, CT scans, PET scans, ultra sounds, and
or X-rays are used to see in the throat.
Also to locate exactly where the cancer is tolydine blue stain, fluorescence
staining, exfoliate cytology, or brush biopsy may be used.
Risk Factors- Risk factors are things that make it more likely to get a disease, you
can make life style changes to lessen your risk factors. The risk factors for throat
cancer are increasing age. People who are 50+ years old are more likely to get the
disease. Men are more than 10 times more likely to get it. People who are heavy
smokers have a greater chance of developing it also people who drink a lot have a
higher risk. There is also a study going on to see if reflux, which is the backward
flow of liquid from the stomach to the throat, increases your risk. Another study is
whether HPV infection in the throat may raise the risk of you getting throat
cancer. HPV is a group of viruses that can get the body very sick.
Symptoms-Some symptoms of throat cancer are: Coughing up blood(sputum)
abnormal breath, a lump outside the neck, frequent cough, swelling of the neck,
hard time swallowing, and throat or neck pain.
Treatment-Throat cancer is highly curable if caught early. There are many
different ways that have been used to treat throat cancer. One is the use of
chemotherapy and radiation to shrink/kill the tumor. The chemotherapy makes
cells more sensitive to the radiation which kills the cancerous cells easier. But the
combination of the two treatments makes their side effects worse. Some small to
medium tumors can be removed by a transoral laser, which is a small tube passed
thru the mouth and down the throat. But if there is a bigger tumor than a
traditional method would be used, cutting the throat and removing part of the
voice box and the tumor. Nutrition is very important while treating throat cancer.
The right amount of calories, minerals, vitamins and proteins are necessary to
keep the strength to heal. But when you have throat cancer it might be hard or
painful to eat. So a feeding tube may be used to deliver the nutrition that is
needed. A feeding tube is a small flexible tube that goes directly into the stomach
and gives the proper nutrition.