Head and Neck Cancer Treatment in Utah

Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body grow out of control. Cancers of the head and neck include cancers that start in several places in the head and throat, not including brain cancers or cancers of the eye.

Head and Neck Cancer Symptoms:

In the mouth, cancer can cause the following:

• A white or red sore that does not heal on the gums, tongue, or lining of the mouth.
• Swelling in the jaw.
• Unusual bleeding or pain in the mouth.
• A lump or thickening.
• Problems with dentures.

At the back of the mouth (pharynx), cancer can cause the following:

• Trouble breathing or speaking.
• A lump or thickening.
• Trouble chewing or swallowing food.
• A feeling that something is caught in the throat.
• Pain in the throat that won’t go away.
• Pain or ringing in the ears or trouble hearing.

In the voice box (larynx), cancer can cause the following:

• Pain when swallowing.
• Ear pain.

In the sinuses and nasal cavity, cancer can cause the following:

• Blocked sinuses that don’t clear.
• Sinus infections that do not respond to treatment with antibiotics.
• Bleeding through the nose.
• Headaches.
• Pain and swelling around the eyes.
• Pain in the upper teeth.
• Problems with dentures.

Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Options:

Patients and their doctors should consider treatment options carefully. They should discuss each type of treatment and how it might change the way the patient looks, talks, eats, or breathes and how each treatment can affect their quality of life. Head and neck cancer treatment can include:

• Surgery is the main treatment for Head and Neck cancers.
• Radiation therapy uses focused, high-energy photon beams to destroy cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy works by killing fast-growing cells, including cancer cells.
• Targeted therapy works by stopping or slowing the growth or spread of cancer. 
• Immunotherapy recruits the patient’s own immune system in the fight against cancer.