Download Salivary gland cancer What happens next?

Salivary gland
cancer
What happens next?
Salivary gland cancer: What happens next? – diagram notes
1. Symptoms for cancer of the salivary gland can be similar to symptoms for other illnesses. But
it is important that you report any of them to your doctor.
The most common symptom is a lump or swelling on or near your jaw, or in your mouth or
neck. This is a rare cancer and a lump in this area doesn’t necessarily mean you have
cancer. Around three out of four tumours of the salivary gland (75%) are not cancer – they are
benign.
Other symptoms include:
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numbness in part of your face
drooping on one side of your face (facial palsy)
pain in the area
problems swallowing
difficulty opening your mouth fully
swelling on one side of your face.
2. If the GP doesn't think the patient has salivary team they will discuss what to do next.
3. If the GP thinks the patient may have salivary team they will refer the patient to the
nearest head and neck hospital department.
4. The specialist will assess the patient and arrange further investigations. These include
blood tests and X-rays. A nurse or doctor will co-ordinate appointments and letters to
the patient.
Doctors need to have the results of the investigations to get a good idea of why the
patient is ill. They will probably not have all the information they need on the patient's
first visit to the clinic.
You can read more about how salivary team is diagnosed (including questions to ask
the specialist) in our salivary gland cancer article.
5. The next steps will depend on the results of the tests and investigations.
6. If the investigations are negative (they don't find salivary gland cancer), the specialist
discusses the results with the patient and arranges treatment or more tests.
7. If the investigations suggest the patient has salivary gland cancer, a specialist multidisciplinary team (MDT) will meet to discuss the results. This MDT meeting will include
doctors from the X-ray, pathology and oncology departments and specialist nurses.
If the case is new to the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), the nurse specialist (or other
appointed person) will call the patient after the initial MDT discussion to tell them the
outcome of the meeting and explain the next steps.
8. An appointment is usually made after the MDT meeting so that a face-to-face
discussion can take place. This is an opportunity for the patient to ask questions and
get results. See questions to ask the doctor about treatment.
The doctor or clinical nurse specialist and the patient can talk about plans for
treatment, and the patient will often be given some time to go away and consider all
the options.
9. Health Rights Information Scotland has made a leaflet called Consent – it's your
decision that explains patients' right to make decisions about their treatment
10. The multi-disciplinary team will discuss the patient's case after the first round of
treatment. They may give the patient advice about having more treatment, but this is
not always needed.
11. Some advanced cancers will need further treatment. This can be a mix of surgery,
radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The kind of treatment used will depend on the grade
and location of the tumour and what the consultant and patient decide to do.
12. There may be some differences in how follow-up care is given depending on which
health board the patient is in, but doctors and other staff follow guidelines so that
patients get the same high standard of care across Scotland. See questions to ask
about follow-up care.
13. Support during and after treatment comes from local independent patient groups and
charities such as Macmillan, Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie, Maggie's and CLAN.
Contact details of support groups can be found on our Cancer support in your area
and Cancer helplines and forums pages.