Thought acute pharyngitis went to the doctor to find out the terminal cancer

Surprised by terminal cancer

NVT patient in Hanoi shared that more than 3 months ago, the patient suffered from swallowing problems, swallowing pain gradually increased when eating, shifted to the right, spread to the right ear. At that time, the patient went to the doctor and was diagnosed with acute pharyngitis and bought oral medicine (the type of drug is unknown) but it did not help.

About 1 month ago, the symptoms of hoarseness increased gradually, swallowing was more painful, swallowing was more painful, eating was poor, and the patient lost weight (3 kg/ 3 months) so the patient went for an in-depth examination. Patient history of frequent alcohol consumption and smoking.

When examining the ear, nose and throat, the doctor found that the right neck area was swollen, with lymph nodes on both sides. Otolaryngoscopy, the doctor discovered a very large wart in the right lower throat, 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 suspicion of metastases in the lungs and chest wall.

The patient had a biopsy of the hypopharynx tumor with the results: squamous cell carcinoma.

With the results of examination, biopsy, and CT scan, the patient was diagnosed with cancer of the pharynx – larynx stage IVB.

The patient and his family were extremely surprised with the results of the examination, because they did not expect that from these common signs, they would have such a dangerous disease.

Smoking causes cancer of the larynx and lower throat.

Differentiate between throat cancer and larynx cancer

Doctor Do Tien Quan – Ear, nose and throat specialist, Medlatec General Hospital directly examines patients sharing lower throat cancer, the initial symptoms are discreet, not aggressive, so the patient is easy to ignore and not 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, easy examination and detection, and timely treatment gives high results (early detection rate is 80%). But in fact, there are many cases of subjective late arrival to the doctor, so it has unfortunate consequences that prolong the time, as well as affect the treatment results and the patient’s quality of life.

According to Dr. Quan, 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 by 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).

Dr. Quan said the signs are easy to confuse, so they are often ignored. If you have any of the following symptoms, you should go to a medical facility for examination immediately:

+ Swallowing disorders: Swallowing trouble, swallowing pain on one side and spreading to the ear on the same side.

+ Eating poorly.

Unexplained weight loss.

+ Swollen cervical lymph nodes on the same side of the lesion, in the late stage, there are cervical lymph nodes on both sides.

For laryngeal cancer, you should be on the lookout for the following signs:

Hoarseness: A common and sometimes unique 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.

+ Difficulty swallowing: When the tumor has spread to the lower throat, accompanied by signs of pain spreading to the ear.

Unexplained weight loss.

To prevent cancer of the pharynx – larynx, Dr. Quan recommends that it is best to quit smoking and drinking alcohol, because these are the main risk factors for the disease. Use full labor protection in environments exposed to a lot of dust, toxic chemicals. Complete treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Clean teeth, treat diseases of the nose and throat area thoroughly.

When symptoms appear hoarse, painful swallowing, swallowing difficulties, especially in men over 40 years old, who have a habit of smoking and drinking often, it is necessary to see an ENT specialist for early detection.

K.Chi