Symptoms of laryngeal cancer include voice changes, such as hoarseness, and a sore throat or cough that doesn’t go away. Treatment in Turkey may consist of surgery to remove part or all of the larynx, called a laryngectomy.
You can reduce your risk of laryngeal cancer by avoiding smoking.
What is laryngeal cancer?
Laryngeal cancer is a cancer of the larynx, part of the throat.
Cancer occurs when certain cells grow uncontrollably.
When cells multiply, they invade and damage the body. This is what happens in laryngeal cancer when cancerous (malignant) cells begin to multiply randomly in the larynx (voice box).
How common is laryngeal cancer?
Laryngeal cancer is part of the group of head and neck cancers.
Each year, approximately 2.7 out of every 100,000 are diagnosed, while 1.6 out of every 100,000 die each year.
What is the larynx?
The larynx is in your throat. It is also known as the voice box.
The larynx helps us speak, breathe, and swallow.
The vocal cords are also part of the larynx.
The larynx mostly comprises cartilage, an elastic tissue that creates a supportive framework.
The larynx consists of three parts:
- Supraglottis (top): More than one in three laryngeal cancers (35%) start here.
- Cancer of the epiglottis (middle part): More than half of laryngeal cancers (60%) begin here, including vocal cord cancer.
- Under the epiglottis (bottom): About 5% of laryngeal cancers – 1 in 20 – start here.
What does the larynx do?
The larynx helps us to:
- Breathing: The vocal cords open to allow air to pass through.
- Talking: The vocal cords close. When air passes through the vocal cords, they vibrate, which helps form speech sounds.
- Swallowing: The epiglottis (part of the epiglottis) falls over the larynx. This closes the airway and food passes into the esophagus.
What are the causes or risk factors for laryngeal cancer?
Smoking or using other tobacco products significantly increases your risk of laryngeal cancer.
Drinking alcohol, especially in excess, also increases your risk.
Using alcohol and tobacco together increases your risk even more.
Other causes or risk factors for laryngeal cancer include
- Age: Laryngeal cancer occurs more frequently in people 55 and older.
- Sex: Men are more likely to develop this cancer, possibly because smoking and excessive drinking occur more often in men.
- History of head and neck cancer: About one in four (25%) people with head and neck cancer will get it again.
- Job: People who are exposed to certain substances at work are at greater risk.
These include sulfuric acid spray, wood dust, nickel, asbestos, or mustard gas manufacturing. People who work with machinery are also more at risk.
Symptoms and causes
What are the main causes of laryngeal cancer?
Researchers don’t know what causes laryngeal cancer. But if you have risk factors such as tobacco or alcohol use, you have a higher chance of developing laryngeal cancer.
Some types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease, can cause throat cancer.
What are the symptoms of laryngeal cancer in men and women?
It’s easy to confuse symptoms of throat cancer with other conditions. If you experience these symptoms, talk to your doctor for an accurate diagnosis:
- A sore throat or cough that won’t go away
- Voice change, such as hoarseness that does not improve after two weeks
- Pain or other difficulties when swallowing
- A lump in the neck or throat
- Hoarseness, difficulty making sounds
- Ear pain
If you have these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately:
- Difficulty breathing (dyspnea).
- Squeaking, loud, high-pitched breathing.
- Skin sensation, is the feeling of having something in your throat.
- Coughing up blood (hemoptysis).
Diagnostics and tests in Turkey
How is laryngeal cancer diagnosed in Turkey?
Your doctor will ask you for signs of laryngeal cancer with the exam. Your doctor will perform a physical exam and examine your throat and neck.
After the initial test, you’ll likely need other tests to confirm the diagnosis.
What other tests help diagnose laryngeal cancer in Istanbul?
Other diagnostic tests include the following:
- Imaging examinations: A CT scan or MRI provides detailed body images.
A chest X-ray can tell if the cancer has spread to the lungs. - Laryngoscopy: Your doctor uses a thin, lighted tube called an endoscope to examine your throat.
- PET scan: During a PET scan, a radiologist injects a small, safe dose of a radioactive substance into your vein. This substance highlights abnormal areas that are functioning above normal.
The PET scanner creates three-dimensional images from the substance’s energy. - Biopsy: During a biopsy, the doctor removes a small piece of abnormal tissue from the larynx and examines it under a microscope.
What are the stages of laryngeal or throat cancer?
Part of the diagnosis is staging the cancer. Your care team will determine the severity of the disease – how far the tumor has grown, whether it has invaded the body, and where.
Laryngeal cancer can sometimes invade the thyroid gland, esophagus, tongue, lungs, liver, and bones. Stages of laryngeal cancer include:
- Early laryngeal cancer: In stages 0, 1, and 2, the tumor is small. The cancer has not spread beyond the larynx.
- Advanced laryngeal cancer: In stages 3 and 4, the tumor has grown larger.
The cancer has affected the vocal cords or has invaded lymph nodes or other body areas.
Management and treatment in Turkey
Who helps diagnose and treat laryngeal cancer?
The laryngeal tumor care team often consists of several providers from different fields:
- Oncologists provide surgical care for tumors.
- Radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to treat cancer.
- Oncologists use medications, such as chemotherapy, to treat cancer.
- Otolaryngologists treat diseases of the head and neck.
- Dentists and oral surgeons provide services such as X-rays and treatment for oral cancer.
- Speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat speech and language disorders, voice, cognitive disorders, and swallowing disorders.
- Dietitians help people find a nutritious diet based on their health, condition, illness, or injury.
- Psychiatrists can address concerns and provide information to patients and families. They also provide counseling, referrals to local and national resources, and information about support groups and financial assistance.
- Primary care providers often oversee general medical care during tumor treatment.
What is the treatment for laryngeal cancer?
Treatment for laryngeal cancer includes:
- Radiation therapy: Radiation oncologists deliver high-energy beams of radiation to kill cancer cells.
The radiation targets only the tumor to minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue. - Chemotherapy: Oncologists use drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells.
People often receive chemotherapy through a vein (intravenously).
Chemotherapy can cause side effects during treatment. - Immunotherapy to treat laryngeal cancer: This treatment uses the immune system, your body’s natural defenses, to help fight cancer.
Immunotherapy is also called biological therapy. - Surgery: For early laryngeal cancer, surgery can remove the tumor while preserving the larynx (and the ability to speak and swallow).
For advanced cancer, surgeons often need to perform a laryngectomy and remove the entire larynx.
You may have more than one treatment. For example, people sometimes undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
What laryngeal tumor surgery procedures are available?
Surgery removes the cancer. The goal of laryngeal cancer surgery is to remove the tumor while preserving function.
The surgeon may need to remove part or all of the larynx.
Surgical procedures include:
- Vocal cord resection: Part or all of the vocal cord is removed, usually through the mouth
- Supraglottic laryngectomy: A supraglottic laryngectomy, either through the neck or through the mouth
- Hemilaryngectomy: Removes half the larynx and preserves your voice.
- Partial laryngectomy: Removes part of the larynx to preserve your ability to speak.
- Total laryngectomy: Removes the entire larynx through the neck
- Thyroidectomy: Removes all or part of the thyroid gland.
- Laser surgery: Removing the tumor in a bloodless procedure using a laser beam.
How does the medical team discover the best treatment for laryngeal cancer?
For early throat cancer, your care team will likely recommend surgery or radiation therapy.
Research has shown that both are effective.
Your team will base the decision on several factors.
Including:
- What treatment will preserve your voice and your ability to swallow
- Your preferences, desires, and ability to follow the treatment plan
- Your age
- Other conditions you may have
- Demands on your voice, including for your job
- How you sound
- If you smoke or don’t smoke
- Your ability to breathe
- Having someone to support you
How to prevent laryngeal cancer
Can I prevent throat cancer?
You can’t prevent all cancers. But you can reduce your risk of cancer, including throat cancer.
By following a healthy lifestyle:
- Quit smoking and avoid tobacco products.
- Limit alcohol consumption and get treatment for an alcohol use disorder or alcoholism.
- Eat a healthy diet.
How do I know if I’m in danger?
If you have any of the risk factors for throat cancer – for example, if you smoke or have had head and neck cancer in the past – talk to your doctor.
They can help you take steps to reduce your risk of cancer.
Is there a screening for laryngeal cancer?
There is no regular screening test for throat cancer but talk to your healthcare provider if you have hoarseness, other voice changes, or a persistent cough.
Early detection finds cancer early when it’s easier to treat.
Outlook on the treatment of laryngeal tumor
What happens after treatment for laryngeal cancer?
After treatment, you will continue to have follow-up appointments with your doctor to ensure you recover well. He or she will:
- Treat any pain
- Help you manage swallowing issues or mucositis (ulcers in the digestive tract)
- Discuss your diet to make sure you are eating and swallowing
- Prescribe physical therapy for scars on your neck or difficulty opening your mouth
What is the outlook for people with laryngeal cancer?
People have different expectations depending on factors such as the stage of their cancer, their age, and their overall health.
Early throat cancer has a better survival rate.
Advanced cancer that has spread to other areas has a lower survival rate.
However, even advanced laryngeal cancer can be cured. If it comes back, it usually happens within the first two or three years after treatment.
After five years, there is a very low risk of the cancer returning.
post-operative care
How do I take care of myself if I have a total laryngectomy?
If you smoke, it is essential to quit.
Don’t smoke before or during treatment, and avoid smoking even after treatment is finished.
People who smoke after treatment have a higher chance of developing another type of cancer.
However, patients who stop smoking have a much lower risk of developing cancer.
Smoking also prevents you from healing completely and may cause side effects that are worse than treatment.
Will I get a stoma?
If you have a complete laryngectomy, your surgeon will place a new airway in your throat called a stoma. The stoma helps you breathe. It may be permanent or temporary.
You should take care of your stoma by:
- Check it daily to make sure it’s clean and mucus-free.
- Clean the mucus from the stoma by coughing or using a saline spray and cloth.
- Keep it moist with a saline spray.
- Clean the stoma area with water and mild soap.
- Do not immerse the stoma in water.
- Cover the ostomy with a scarf or special ostomy cover to prevent dust. Keep it covered when shaving or showering.
Will I be able to use my voice after laryngeal cancer treatment?
If you’ve had a total laryngectomy (surgeons remove the larynx), you’ll need to learn a new way to speak.
A speech-language pathologist can help.
How can I speak after a laryngectomy?
Healthcare providers use three methods to help people learn how to speak after laryngectomy:
- Talking esophagus: You push air into your esophagus, the tube that carries food and liquid into your stomach.
When you push the air out, it passes through your throat. You use the vibration you create to say words.
Esophageal speech requires intensive therapy to achieve good results. - Artificial larynx (electric larynx): You can hold this electronic device on your neck or cheek or insert it into your mouth to produce sound.
The device creates a vibration that you can use to speak words.
It doesn’t require surgery, and you can speak it right away.
But speech may sound mechanical. A speech therapist helps you learn how to use it. - Tracheoesophageal puncture: The surgeon makes a hole in the throat, between the esophagus and the trachea.
They place a prosthesis with a one-way valve in the opening.
The valve opens when air passes through. You push air from your lungs into your throat.
When the air reaches your esophagus, it produces vibrations you can use to speak.
You need to maintain and replace the prosthesis regularly. But it creates a smoother sound.
How do I breathe after a laryngectomy?
After a laryngectomy, you breathe by breathing air through an opening in your neck. Take care of your stoma to keep it moist and free of mucus, and protect your trachea as well.
After surgery, you will have a miniature hood and filter (HME = Heat and Moisture Exchange). This allows you to inhale warm, moisturized air using your body’s own strength.
You will find that this causes less mucus in your windpipe and less coughing after surgery.
Will I be able to eat after a laryngectomy?
Immediately after surgery, you will not eat or drink anything by mouth. You will get your nutrition through a feeding tube. A few days after surgery, your healthcare provider will check to see if you can swallow food and liquids without trouble.
Once you can swallow safely, you will start eating soft foods (sweets and pureed foods) and progress to a regular diet.
What should I ask the doctor?
If you’ve been diagnosed with throat cancer, ask your provider:
- What is the stage of cancer?
- What are my treatment options?
- How will the treatment affect my speech, breathing, and swallowing?
- Will I need rehabilitation after treatment?
- Will the cancer come back?
- How can I stay healthy?
Note:
Laryngeal cancer occurs when cells grow out of control in the larynx or throat.
You can prevent many laryngeal cancers by avoiding tobacco and limiting alcohol intake.
If you have symptoms of throat cancer, such as hoarseness or other voice changes, a persistent cough, or difficulty swallowing, talk to your doctor.
Treatment aims to remove the cancer while preserving your ability to speak, breathe, and eat.
Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and surgery involve removing all or part of your larynx (laryngectomy).
You can contact us to know the best doctors who specialize in laryngeal cancer surgery in Turkey /Istanbul.
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