Prevention

Medical treatments

Treatments vary depending on the size and location of the tumor. Depending on the stage of the cancer, the healthcare team may have surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. These treatments are usually combined in order to destroy the cancer cells, limit their expansion to other parts of the body and reduce the risk of recurrence.

For each person with throat cancer, the choice of treatment is discussed during a multidisciplinary consultation involving ENT surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiotherapist, oncologist, and the decision taken after information and discussion with the patient.

Surgeries

• Removal of cancer cells by endoscopic surgery. If the cancer is still starting, the doctor can destroy the cancer cells with or without a laser. This intervention leaves little or no after-effects.
• La partial laryngectomy involves removing the part of the larynx affected by the tumor. This intervention can affect the speech and the respiratory faculties, but there are techniques of reconstruction of the larynx which make it possible to limit the sequelae.
• La cordectomie involves removing only part of the affected vocal cord.
• La pharyngectomie involves removing part of the pharynx. The organ can then be reconstructed in order to limit the sequelae and ensure normal swallowing.
• La laryngectomie totale. If the cancer is advanced, you may need to remove the entire larynx and make an opening in the neck that connects to the trachea to allow air to enter the lungs (a tracheostomy). After such an intervention, the operated person must relearn to speak with the help of a speech therapist.
• THEobviously (cleaning) ganglionic. If the nodes are affected or in some forms of cancer, it is necessary to remove the affected nodes in the same operation as the removal of the pharyngolaryngeal tumor. Radiation therapy to destroy remaining cancer cells is usually indicated.

Radiotherapy

High intensity x-rays are usually used to irradiate cancer cells. We use the radiotherapy in the case of throat cancers, because they are particularly sensitive to the effects of irradiation. Some early-stage cancers can only be treated with radiation therapy, but sometimes radiation therapy must be combined with surgery to remove any cancer cells that could not be destroyed during surgery or to shrink the tumor before surgery. surgical removal.

Radiation therapy can have certain Side effects : severe skin dryness such as “sunburn”, lesions of the pharyngolaryngeal mucous membranes making swallowing and speech difficult, loss of taste, hoarseness of the voice which generally disappear after the end of radiotherapy.

Before radiotherapy, a dental check-up is essential to avoid complications, because this radiotherapy is aggressive for the teeth and the gums. The dental check-up can lead to care aimed at preserving the teeth when possible, or extractions of excessively damaged teeth, or even fluoride-based treatments.

Chemotherapy

Some cancers require combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a combination of drugs that can be given intravenously or orally. This treatment makes it possible to treat both the cancer cells of the original tumor and any metastases in the rest of the body.

It can cause side effects like vomiting, loss of appetite, hair loss, mouth sores, low red and white blood cell counts, and fatigue.

Targeted therapy

Some pharmaceuticals target specific aspects of cancer cells to prevent them from growing. Cetuximab (Erbitux®) is one of the drugs approved for the treatment of throat cancer. This type of medicine can be used in addition to radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Re-education and follow-up

In the event of surgery, a period of rehabilitation by a Speech Therapist is often necessary to regain the best ability to eat, drink and speak.

In all cases, a food rich in quantity and quality is essential for healing and recovery

It is strongly advised to pay particular attention to thedental hygiene daily and consult a Dentist regularly.

Complementary approaches