Swallowing pain, hoarseness, going to the doctor to find out that I have two cancers

Examining at MEDLATEC General Hospital, the patient said that, more than 3 months ago, he had trouble swallowing, swallowing pain gradually increased when eating, deviating to the right, spreading to the right ear.

A recent month, the manifestations of hoarseness increased gradually, swallowing problems, swallowing more painful, poor eating, thin weight loss (loss of 3 kg/3 months).

The patient has a history of frequent drinking and smoking for many years.

Doctor Do Tien Quan – Otolaryngology specialist appoints patients to endoscopy otolaryngology and do some tests.

When examining the ear, nose and throat, the doctor found that the patient’s right neck area was swollen, and the neck lymph nodes were on both sides. Ear, nose and throat endoscopy revealed a very large wart in the right hypopharynx spreading around and into the larynx.

The patient was assigned a CT scan of the neck, CT of the chest. The results of CT scan of the neck showed that the patient had a large tumor in the hypopharynx spreading into the larynx and anterior soft part of the spine with many bilateral cervical lymph nodes. Chest CT scan showed suspected metastases in the lungs and chest wall.

The patient had a biopsy of the hypopharynx tumor, which showed squamous cell carcinoma. With the results of examination, biopsy, and CT scan, the patient was diagnosed with cancer of the pharynx – larynx stage IVB.

Differentiate cancer of the pharynx and larynx

According to Dr. Quan, throat cancer, the initial symptoms are discreet, not aggressive, so the patient is easy to ignore, not to go to the doctor; and laryngeal cancer often appears early with hoarse symptoms, so patients should go to the doctor earlier.

In terms of growth rate, laryngeal cancer develops more slowly than other cancers, is easily detected and treated in time, with high results (early detection rate is 80%). But in fact, many cases of subjective late arrival to the doctor’s office should have the unfortunate consequences of prolonging the time, as well as affecting the treatment results and the patient’s quality of life.

Therefore, Dr. Quan noted that people should be wary of high risk factors for cancer of the pharynx – larynx, including:

– Habits of drinking, smoking: Both alcohol and tobacco use increase the risk of cancer 3 times.

– Occupational factors: Related to asbestos dust, Nickel, chrome, sulfuric acid, plastics.

In addition, laryngeal cancer is common in patients over 55 years of age, men (4 times higher risk than women).

When should I go to the doctor?

Dr. Quan recommends that people should go for an annual ENT specialist examination, especially those with high risk factors or should pay attention to go to the doctor immediately if one of the following signs appears:

For cancer of the lower throat, people should be alert for warning signs such as swallowing disorders (swallowing problems, swallowing pain on one side and spreading to the ear on the same side); eating poorly; unexplained weight loss; cervical lymphadenopathy on the same side of the lesion, in the late stage, there are bilateral cervical lymph nodes.

For laryngeal cancer, you should be on the lookout for hoarseness (A common and sometimes the only symptom in many patients); cough (is a manifestation of many respiratory diseases such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis… and is also a common sign of laryngeal cancer, so it should be noted). In the late stages, patients have difficulty swallowing, causing food to fall into the airways, causing coughing fits.

In addition, symptoms such as difficulty swallowing (When the tumor has spread to the lower pharynx accompanied by signs of pain spreading to the ear); Unexplained weight loss is also a sign you need to be on the lookout for.