Throat cancer treatments

You may fear that your cancer has come back. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice. Cancer treatments will vary depending on a number of factors and will be tailored to your individual needs. Depending on the type of throat cancer and how far it has spread, you may be treated with one or a combination of therapies. Chemotherapy is a drug that kills and slows the growth of malignant cells. These innovative new drugs stop the growth of cancer cells by interfering with certain proteins and receptors or blood vessels that supply the tumor with what it needs to grow.

This is a unique website which will require a more modern browser to work! Patients with early-stage squamous-cell cancer may have better outcomes if they undergo elective surgery to remove lymph nodes in the neck than if they wait for disease to spread to the lymph nodes before removing them. Signs include bleeding in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, or a persistent earache. If your voice box is removed, the surgeon will attach your windpipe to an opening in your neck, called a stoma, so you can breathe. The two primary types of throat cancer are:.

Inherited mutations of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes rarely cause throat cancer, but some people seem to inherit a reduced ability to break down certain types of cancer-causing chemicals. Radiation therapy works by damaging the DNA in the cancer cell, thereby disabling the cancer cells from reproducing and growing. This may be because these cancers have some of the same risk factors. Learn more about why this happens and how it's treated. That means more than two drinks of alcohol a day if you're a man or more than one a day if you're a woman.

However, those diagnosed can continue treatment to prolong their life and slow the progression of the disease. You may fear that your cancer has come back. Targeted therapies are drugs that stop the spread and growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific molecules that are responsible for tumor growth. A flexible, hollow-core fiber transmits CO2 laser energy, enabling surgeons to reach otherwise unreachable areas and to perform a degree resection around tumors in ways that were previously not possible. Being diagnosed with cancer can be devastating. These innovative new drugs stop the growth of cancer cells by interfering with certain proteins and receptors or blood vessels that supply the tumor with what it needs to grow.