Throat Cancer Does Not Really Exist - But You Have To Be Cautious.

Actually there is no such medical illness called throat cancer , although a number
of types of cancer can arise in the throat and neck. The proper medical term for
the throat is the pharynx , which can be defined as: 'the channel that ensures tha
t food and drink go to the stomach and air to and from the lungs'.
The pharynx is made up of three components: the oropharynx (the back of the mout
h, including the soft palate and back of the tongue); nasopharynx (connecting th
e back of the nose to the back of the mouth); laryngopharynx (connecting the oro
pharynx and nasopharynx to the beginning of the gullet (oesophagus) and the wind
pipe (trachea) via the voice box (larynx)).
The laryngopharynx is sometimes known as the hypopharynx. Throat cancer can be can
cer of any of these, although the most common kind of throat cancer is nasopharyng
eal cancer.
Just to render the term throat cancer even more useless and puzzling, some people
apply it to cancer of the thyroid gland (situated at the front of the base of th
e neck), cancer of the voice box (larynx), cancer of the gullet or cancer of the
windpipe (trachea), which really falls into the lung cancer group.
Most head and neck cancerous cells are squamous, which is to say that they do no
t travel far from their origin, although they often affect the lymph nodes. In f
act, the first sign of head or throat cancer is frequently an enlarged neck lymp
h node, which is also sometimes referred to as throat cancer.
Another sign could be the manifestation of white patches or spots in the mouth t
hat will not respond to treatment. Known as leukoplakia, 33% of them become canc
erous. It is estimated that 7,000 Americans die of a throat cancer every year, f
requently because it was discovered late. Ethnicity may also play a part, since
African American men are 50% more at risk of throat cancer than Caucasian men.
These cancers are relatively painless in early stages and can be confused with t
oothache, earache, sore throat or hoarseness. Once established however, they dev
elop very quickly, although if detected at an early stage, they can nearly alway
s be effectively removed.
There is a extensive variety of causes why someone can be at a heightened risk f
or a throat cancer, including smoking; chewing tobacco and other things, such as
betel nut, gutkha, marijuana or pan; excessive alcohol consumption; poor diet r
esulting in vitamin deficiencies (worse if this is caused by substantial alcohol
intake); weakened immune system; asbestos exposure; prolonged exposure to timbe
r dust or paint fumes; exposure to petroleum, industrial chemicals, and being ov
er the age of 55 years.
The presence of acid reflux disease (gastroesphogeal reflux disease - GERD) or l
arynx reflux disease can also be a key factor. In the case of acid reflux diseas
e, stomach acids flow up into the oesophagus and injure its lining, making it mo
re liable to throat cancer.
Because successful treatment depends on early detection, regular oral examinatio
n is suggested. Your dentist will have been trained to be on the look out for ea
rly signs, making a bi-annual visit to the dentist even more worthwhile
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now invol
ved with the <a href="http://signsandsymptomsofovariancancer.org/stages-of-ovari
an-cancer.html">stages of ovarian cancer</a>. If you want to know more, please v
isit our site at <a href="http://signsandsymptomsofovariancancer.org">Signs and
Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer</a>