Dr. Swaroop Revannasiddaiah Podcast

So we'll speak about head and neck cancer. Cancer arising from various sides of the head and neck so what are they they are Cancers usually Squamous carcinomas arising from various subsides of the oral cavity such as the tongue the floor of the mouth the gingiva cancer and they could also arise from the tonsils which is part of the oropharynx, the base of tongue . Sometimes from the throat which is could be the lungs or in the pharynx that is the upper part of the food pipe or the wind pipe and then it could also be present in the back of the nose called as nasopharynx. It could also be present in the sinuses. So head and neck cancers are generally preventable. In most of the cases because we have to know what are the risk factors. Most of them are lifestyle related tobacco smoking. Tobacco chewing, is one cause. Alcohol is another cause. The combination of smoking plus tobacco is even bigger of a problem. Then human papilloma virus which is a kind of a sexually transmitted virus is another cause and then some rare causes could include exposure to wood dust or nickel dust which is seen in wood workers and certain factory workers. This can all cause head and neck cancers . So by knowing the risk factors we have to mitigate our exposure to this particular risk factors. Thus we can prevent head and neck cancers. Early detection in head and neck cancer is very important. We have stages 1 2 3 and 4. As the stage number goes up the chance of cure becomes less and also the intensity of treatment increases. As the stage increases like in early stage of head and neck cancer a simple surgery may be enough but as the stage increases we may require surgery chemotherapy radiation therapy and sometimes immunotherapy as well. It significantly increases the cost and the complexity of treatment. So early detection is very important. If somebody has a change in voice a hoarseness in the voice some unusual ulcer in the mouth which is not healing then we have to get it checked to see what it is. So in general the treatment for head and neck cancer depends on how big the disease is what is the stage can it be easily removed or what is the sight of the disease for example in early stage carcinoma of the tongue can easily be removed but we should also take into account what could happen if the tongue is removed there'll be some occupational issues. So in that case we may choose radiation therapy chemotherapy and all those things some locations are not easily accessible for surgery such as the sinuses or the nasopharynx where we directly start them with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But in general as a principle for head and cancer we have to think about organ preservation before surgery for example just because we can remove throat cancer. If we remove the throat what's going to happen to the person's voice what about somebody's occupation so we have to think about all those things. So early stages radiation therapy and surgery are equally effective but in advanced stages as we go up to stages three and four we may require multiple modality approaches which include surgery chemotherapy, radiation therapy and sometimes immunotherapy as well. So earlier the detection better the chance of cure. Head and neck cancer symptoms |Head and neck cancer surgery |Head and neck cancer treatment |Head and neck cancer screening |Head and neck cancer survivors |Head and neck cancer staging | Head and neck cancer diagnosis |Head and neck cancer chemotherapy |Chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer |Chemotherapy for head and neck cancer |World head and neck cancer day |Head and neck cancer exercises |Radiation side effects head and neck cancer |Immunotherapy for head and neck cancer |Radiotherapy for head and neck cancer |Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer |Speech therapy for head and neck cancer |HPV head and neck cancer |What is head and neck cancer |Head and neck tumor |Staging of head and neck cancer |Types of head and neck cancer |Head & neck cancer