Neck Cancer

What is Neck Cancer?

Cancer of the neck encompasses quite a broad range of cancers, including cancer of the lymph nodes in the neck, skin tumors on the neck, and in some cases it even refers to cancer of the voice box as well. It is estimated that somewhere around 60,000 people in the United States deal with some form of this type of cancer, and it accounts for about 5% of the diagnosed cancer in the U.S. There are many survivors of cancer of the neck; however, it can be fatal if it is not taken care of right away.

Causes of Neck Cancer

There are a variety of risk factors and causes of neck cancer that are important to understand. Using forms of tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol can all lead to cancer of the neck. In some cases some types of neck cancer may also be caused by over exposure to the sun or other UV rays. Exposure to radiation can also cause some types of neck cancer as well, such as cancer of the lymph nodes.

Symptoms of Neck Cancer

Since finding out about neck cancer early is important, you need to be aware of the various symptoms of neck cancer so you can help catch it early on. Pain in the throat or difficult with swallowing can be a sign that you have cancer of the neck. Developing pain in the glands in your neck can also be a symptom of neck cancer. Also, if you develop any kind of lump in your neck or on the skin of your neck, that can be a symptom of cancer as well. If you have any of these symptoms it is extremely important that you consult with your doctor to find out the problem as soon as possible. In fact, doing so could help to save your life.

In order to diagnose you with cancer, your doctor may need to perform any number of tests, including biopsies of the tissue that seems to be effective. Once they have confirmation that you do have cancer, then they can work on an effective treatment plan for your cancer of the neck. There are several types of treatment for neck cancer that you may encounter. Usually surgery is going to be one of the treatment options, and it can be used alone, or with radiation, chemotherapy, or all three. The use of gene therapy for treating neck cancer is also being explored, and recently a new drug has been approved for treating this kind of cancer, called cetuximab. Usually this drug is used with radiation and chemotherapy treatments when surgery is not a good option for treatment.

Neck Cancer Treatments

While there are various side effects that can come along with these treatments, usually they are quite effective if the cancer is caught early enough. There are also new drugs that are being studied, and if you are interested you may want to talk with your doctor about being a part or new clinical trials using new drugs to see if they may work for treating neck cancer.

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