Head and Neck Cancers

Mary Bird Perkins offers the most advanced radiation therapy available in the world with the medical and technical experts to use it successfully.

Doctors and patients are working together to find more answers about the causes of head and neck cancers. Recent studies suggest that treating head and neck cancer early, before it spreads, combining radiation with other types of treatment can increase the survival rate for patients with certain kinds of head and neck cancer.

Most head and neck cancers begin in the cells that line the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, nose, throat and other parts of the head and neck area. Head and neck cancers are also called squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. Head and neck cancers make up about three to five percent of all cancers in the United States. Symptoms include a lump or sore that does not heal, sore throat that does not go away, difficulty swallowing, change or hoarseness in the voice, trouble swallowing or breathing, blocked sinuses and/or frequent headaches.

Tobacco and alcohol use are among the leading risk factors for head and neck cancers; 85 percent of head and neck cancers are linked to tobacco use. Those who have been treated for head and neck cancer are susceptible to developing a new cancer. If the patient drinks or smokes, this increases their chances of a recurrence.

Related Links:

National Cancer Institute