Important information regarding head & neck cancers!!
How many are aware of the fact that every year 27th of July is celebrated as the World Head and Neck Cancer Day?
One of the most common types of cancer is Head & Neck cancer. The main objective behind the above said date is to create awareness regarding head and neck cancers.
What is head and neck cancer?
It must be noted that head and neck cancer is a group of cancer that would develop in the head and neck region. This includes mouth, throat, voice box, nose, salivary glands and sinuses etc. It is noteworthy that head and neck cancer would be classified as squamous cell carcinomas arising from thin flat cells present in the linings of head and neck.
Symptoms:
Those with head & neck cancer would show several symptoms like persistent sores, lump, swelling difficulty in swallowing, pain etc.
The shocking piece of information is that head and neck cancer would not only occur in smokers but also in the non-smokers and youngsters etc.
Various causes for head and neck cancers are
HPV infections:
Oropharyngeal cancer could be due to HPV or HPV-16 and it would also include cancers in the tonsils and at the base of the tongue etc. It is learnt that more youngsters (who have no history of smoking or drinking etc) are getting affected with this cancer.
Exposure to environment and occupation etc:
Point is that prolonged or continuous exposure to industrial pollution, traffic, exhaust etc could result in head and neck cancers in us. For a long time, these reasons were overlooked but in recent times these have been regarded as major carcinogenic or cancer causing agents especially in the urban industrial places.
Nutrition and oral hygiene:
Inflammatory conditions would be formed in the mouth if we eat food that has inadequate nutrients and lacks antioxidants etc. This inflammatory condition would suggest a pre-cancerous tendency in the mouth cavity.
Alcohol and genetic predisposition:
Even when we do not smoke but consume alcohol moderately etc, the enhanced probability of this cancer would be advanced. Truth is that genetic mutatations could be passed on from parents to their children. That is even if the child maintains a healthy lifestyle he or she could get head and neck cancer.
Awareness and early action needed;
It is worthy to note that delayed diagnosis in non-smokers is an important issue. Those who have never drunk or smoked would not even think about cancer in them. This could lead to delay in the detection of cancer and further treatment etc.
Note:
It is possible to cure head and neck cancer if it is detected in the early stage itself. The patient would be subjected to several treatment options like surgery, radiation therapy chemotherapy etc.
Primary treatment for early stage cancer is surgery. Often used alone or in combination with surgery is the usage of high energy rays used to kill cancer cells. In chemotherapy, drugs are used to kill cancer cells. By targeted therapy, more accurate treatment could be achieved.
