There are many kinds of cancers of the throat as we found out recently….

OUT of the blue a friend called to say hello and to share that he was suffering from cancer of the throat and it’s going to be a slow death for him. For a moment one wondered whether TO laugh or cry for the friend who has a sense of humor. Most cancers, he shared, give only a 5-year survival chance and he’s already done with chemotherapy, radiation treatment and is on drugs to stay alive till the end.
I asked him so what have you been up to out in the countries of the West where he’s been on various postings? Not married, he sighed, moving from woman to woman, and still looking for the perfect woman to settle down with. Out in the USA and UK throat cancers are very common, he said, “Maybe it’s all the sexual promiscuity they indulge in!”
Well, that’s certainly true, I tell him, plus the smoking and boozing and indifferent eating habits…all that is also true of our excessively Westernized urban upper crust societies y in India. Over a lunch date I learned a whole lot more about throat cancers and how deadly they can be. Most of us think only men get throat cancer but women also get it if they are chewing too much tobacco-laced paan constantly in their mouth.
WE in India should pay heed to what and how we use and abuse our mouth indiscriminately and how it contributes to one or another of the throat cancers. Generally when someone says throat cancer in a general way it means one of the half-a-dozen kinds of cancers afflicting a vital part of body beautiful…the neck and throat areas. Throat cancer may mean cancer of the throat or pharynx or the voice box or the larynx. Nasopharyngeal cancer afflicts the back part of the throat which is vulnerable to colds, allergies, sore throat, ear pain, swellings at the lymph nodes – don’t neglect such symptoms as a cough which does not go away, hoarseness of the voice, sputum which has blood. If you are having pain while swallowing food check it out quickly.
Smoking and tobacco products are the single largest cause of HPV infection, referring to the human papilloma virus; and so is believe it or not – oral sex! in the developed countries HPV infection is the most common cause of new throat cancers along with tobacco usage and alcohol imbibing…in the disease called Epstein-Barr virus infection we see the same virus that causes mononucleosis cancer which may also be because of excessive exposure to the sun’s radiation. Throat cancers may also be due to constantly eating very hot, highly spicy or acidic food.
There is much we can do to protect ourselves from throat cancer. Other culprits causing it are the toxic dirty dusty environment in which we breathe day in and day out while on the roads, especially those on two-wheelers and bicycles; if you working in a place where asbestos and dust pollute the air, also formaldehyde…all can lead to throat cancer. In Goa we also have the labor which works in the iron ore mines breathing in iron ore dust for long hours and the villages in the mining belt are affected. Quite a few doctors also say stay away from chemically preserved meats. To protect yourself from throat cancer or for that matter any other cancer be sure to include enough fruit and veggies in your daily eating habits.
There is also thyroid cancer which affects the little butterfly gland in front of the neck. Cancers of the throat can spread to the brain, so don’t ignore headaches either, they may be a symptom of a troubled throat which you have been neglecting!
Diagnostic tools used for staging any cancer include endoscopy for the throat, laryngoscopy for the voice box, biopsy will pin down throat cancer for sure as will the imaging tools of CT and MRI scans, Pet scans; when a cancer is staged it means determining the stage it presents itself with unbearable pain and the patient is forced to seek a doctor’s appointment. If the cancer has spread from its original site – or metastasized, then it is likely to be labeled at stage IV and that’s a very grim diagnosis. Most cancer patients under treatment and remission are given the usual five years of survival rate…more if you make dramatic lifestyle changes.
COMING to Goa there’s a steep rise in cancer with the reported detection of at least two patients with cancer every day on an average. The most common cancers are breast cancer, throat cancer and blood cancer (leukemia).
In conclusion and to reiterate, if you don’t want to be vulnerable to any of the throat cancers take stock of how you treat your mouth today – with real or scant respect. What do you drink and eat, how do you eat, what kind of oral hygiene you maintain and so on. Make time to read up about what makes the mouth a safe haven or a nightmare in time to come!