Understanding Head and Neck Cancer

From the desk of Beth Battaglino, RN, CEO, HealthyWomen

Head and neck cancer is a capture-all expression that contains cancers of the lips, mouth, voice box, throat and salivary glands. When caught early, these cancers have a quite fantastic prognosis, with five-calendar year survival costs of 70% to 90% with procedure. Regretably, most instances aren’t identified right up until they have attained a later phase, creating remedy a great deal much less successful.

You may possibly wonder, if procedure will work so effectively for early-phase head and neck cancer, why are not much more men and women identified just before their most cancers improvements?

HealthyWomen’s new schooling software explores what is stopping people today from finding treatment faster. We know racial and socioeconomic disparities can be a barrier. We also know that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in men and women skipping preventive treatment and program screenings. What is actually far more, head and neck cancer prompted by HPV may well carry stigmas that make people today fewer probably to deliver up signs with their healthcare providers.

And, due to the fact head and neck most cancers consists of many sorts of cancer, symptoms of these cancers are lots of and diversified. Some of the most prevalent ones, these as a persistent sore throat or hoarse voice, can be mistaken for a indication of one thing else, like a chilly.

As Lisa Reed advised HealthyWomen, “I realized there was something a lot more to the lump I felt in my throat. But it continue to took 2 1/2 months in 2007 and many visits to an ear, nose and throat expert (ENT) to encourage her to look harder and deeper at my indications. Eventually, the ENT did an endoscopy and located a finger-like development in the back again of my throat. Soon after a biopsy the future early morning, I heard the dreaded news: It was cancer.”

While getting a head and neck cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, what you or a beloved just one does next is vital. Dr. Eleni Rettig, a head and neck surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Clinic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Professional medical School, shares the thoughts you must question your health care provider. We also support you have an understanding of your threat aspects and the diverse types of head and neck cancers — and we provide suggestions on indicators, early screenings and remedy alternatives.

For Susan Decker McLaughlin, it commenced with a swollen lymph node, a small pain-free bump on the remaining aspect below her jawbone and back again molars. Immediately after getting her diagnosis, she explained, “I was worried and stunned: I’d by no means read of salivary cancer in advance of, and there was no recognised cause.”

Susan added, “This journey has taught me that I can not be concerned to talk up when anything will not sense proper. Doctors could know far more about healthcare situations, but they really don’t know your system much better than you do. If you might be not feeling properly, believe in oneself — and then combat as hard as you can to get the treatment you should have.”

My finest hope is that you take this important assistance, and like Susan, develop into your own very best advocate.

In very good wellness,
Beth Battaglino

This resource was created with guidance from Merck.