With Early Diagnosis Of Head And Neck Cancer The Greater The Chance Of Cure
July is the month of the Campaign to Combat Head and Neck Cancer, known as Green July. According to data from the National Cancer Institute (Inca) , there are more than 40,000 new cases of this type of cancer each year. The head and neck region encompasses some subdivisions, depending on where the tumor affects it: “The head and neck region is placed in a group because the symptoms and their causes are very similar. This segment concerns the mouth, more specifically the tongue; to the throat, with tonsil; and to the larynx, with the vocal cords”, explains doctor Dorival Carlucci, head and neck surgeon at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP.
He explains that any alteration in the region, be it a cold sore or hoarseness, lasting longer than two weeks, is already worrying and requires professional monitoring. A lump in the neck, which also does not go away, could be an indication of a possible tumor in the tonsil. The expert points out: “The earlier the treatment, the greater the chance of cure, and the less aggressive the treatment. A small canker sore on the tongue, removal of the lesion generates almost 80% cure. A tumor on the vocal cord, 95%”.
Treatment
“The big problem with tumors in the head and neck region is that, if they are detected late, they cause very large mutilations in the patient. It can lead to changes in voice, swallowing and even aesthetics”, says Carlucci, who points out that the diagnosis is usually visual or with endoscopic devices, with Hospital das Clínicas being a place with several possibilities for identifying these cancers.
Some types can be treated by means of radio or chemotherapy, but, as stated, the sooner the diagnosis is made, the lesser the need for mutilations in the region affected by the cancer.
Awareness
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is transmitted by sexual contact, but there is a vaccine that prevents it. One of the possibilities for the manifestation of its symptoms is tonsil cancer, which adds to the other aggressors: “If we think that cigarettes, which are the main villain, alcohol, and now we are having an increase in infections by the HPV virus, if we think about the exposure of the entire segment of the aerodigestive tract, this entire region is attacked by these factors. I can even have more than one tumor: I can treat a tumor in the same place and then it returns or appears in another sub-region”, he indicates. “When we say smoking, we mean everything. These electronic cigarettes I consider even more dangerous: we don’t even have control of what’s inside it and it is being consumed by a young population”, he says.
Thus, awareness — both in relation to vaccination against HPV and the early diagnosis of head and neck cancers — is extremely important and fundamental for treatment, especially for its success: “What we most seek is to raise awareness among the population . You need to change living standards so that these aggressors decrease.” Carlucci adds: “The head and neck are a very exposed area. You have to realize, pay attention and not think it’s normal. Knowing your own body is very important”.