Throat Cancer

Throat cancers raise in the organs that help you swallow, speak, and breathe.

About half of these cancers happen in the throat itself, the tube that starts behind your nose and ends in your neck. It’s also named the "pharynx." The repose start in the voice box, or "larynx."

These diseases tend to grow quickly. That's why getting treated early on gives you the best chance to beat them and keep a good quality of life.

Learn as much as you can so you’ll know what to expect.

                                              

Symptoms:

Voice changes like cracking or hoarseness

Trouble swallowing or breathing

Sore throat, cough, or earache that won’t go away

Headache

Neck lump

Unexplained weight loss

Using tobacco for a long time. Smoking it and chewing it are the major risk factors for all head and neck cancers, including throat cancer.

Drinking heavily and regularly. That means more than two drinks of alcohol a day if you're a man or more than one a day if you're a woman.

HPV: Human papillomavirus is linked to cancers in the back of the throat, including tongue and tonsil cancers.

You can help protect your kids from it in the future by having your children get the HPV vaccines. Kids should start the series of shots between 11 and 12 years old.

Other risk factors include:

Gender. Men are five times more likely to get it than women.

Age. Most people get diagnosed after 65.

Race. African-American men are at the biggest risk.

Chemical exposure. This includes being around asbestos, nickel, and sulfuric acid fumes.

Different Types

Most forms raise in the flat, thin cells that line the throat and voice box.

Doctors classify them by where they are:

Nasopharynx. This is the upper part of your throat behind your nose. In the U.S, cancer here is rare.

Oropharynx. This part is behind your mouth. Cancer is most likely to grow in the tonsils, the back of the tongue, or the soft palate.

Hypopharynx. That's the slender area last your voice box.

Cancer cylinder raise in the three parts of the voice box itself:

Glottis: This holds your vocal cords.

Supraglottis: This is the area above the glottis.

Subglottis: This is the area below your vocal cords and above your windpipe.