1. Show Me the Signs
To detect throat cancer early, look at the way your mouth sides, roof and tongue usually look or feel and compare with the abnormal spot in your mouth. Other symptoms are a sore in your mouth that won't heal or gets bigger, constant pain or soreness in your mouth, lumps or colored patches in your mouth, difficulty chewing, swallowing or moving your tongue or jaw, a change in your voice, a lump in your neck or bad breath.
2. See the Doctor
Tell your doctor if you have any abnormal colored spots in your mouth or any constant pain and discomfort in your throat. Expect your doctor to perform a biopsy to determine the type of cancer present. Your doctor and dentist will look at your file to determine the history of the cancer. Most throat cancer starts on the outside of the body and moves inward. Your doctor will perform an x-ray, CT scan, MRI scan or ultrasound to determine how far the cancer has penetrated and the infected area's size.
3. Get Treatment
Doctors use surgery and radiation treatment for cancer that has not penetrated too deep into your skin. If your cancer penetrates deep into your skin, your doctor will still perform surgery and radiation, and he will also give you chemotherapy to treat your whole body. Surgery removes the cancerous cells that your surgeon sees. Radiation therapy kills the cells in a localized area. Your treatments will be for a set amount of time depending on your cancer type and size. Chemotherapy kills all the unhealthy cells in your body, and your doctor will prescribe this if you have advanced throat cancer.
4. Consider Rebuilding
If you had surgery, you will need reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation. Your doctor will let the cancer removal surgery heal and then perform reconstructive surgery to get you back to functioning and looking normal. Your doctor will perform skin grafts to make the outer skin look normal. If you had bone removed, your doctor uses dental procedures to replace your teeth.
5. Causes of Throat Cancer
Throat cancer happens when the cells in your throat have abnormal changes. These changes are initiated by chewing or smoking tobacco. Other causes are excessive amounts of alcohol or exposure to ultraviolet rays.
