The throat cancer occurs behind the roof of the mouth and nose. It turns to the esophagus of the lower neck after merging in the windpipe. This kind of cancer is a threat to health, when overlooked. Early diagnosis is crucial because throat cancer is very quick in spreading to surrounding tissue and parts of the body. Usually patients do not detect any harmful symptoms in the initial stages of this cancer. Many throat cancers are caused by using tobacco products or by drinking alcohol.
Primary Identification of the Throat Cancer
Speech related problems like raspy speech or hoarseness in the voice makes the patient go for medical advice. But many patients take this symptom to be a viral infection or many times, as allergies. This is a serious mistake and the patient has to be cautious at this stage. Throat cancer initially appears like small ulcers or white patches inside the throat.
Identifiable Symptoms of Throat Cancer
The early symptoms can be continuous sore throat, a kind of lump in the neck, pain in the neck or ear, considerable change in the voice and difficulty in swallowing food. The signs here vary considerably making it very difficult to detect throat cancer in the initial stages. Some of the identifiable symptoms of Throat Cancer are:
Persistent sore throat: There is constant pain in the throat. The pain doesnt respond to antibiotics.
Cough: Regular cough bouts can be felt due to continuous irritation inside the throat. Sometimes blood is visible while coughing.
Pain in Ear: There is pain in the ear and front part of the face. As the cancerous cells pass the facial parts, patients experience disturbances in auditory and facial nerves.
Hoarseness in Voice: Vocal cord, which is present in larynx, becomes defective in the process of the cancerous condition. This leads to roughness in the voice.
Difficulty in Breathing: If the tumor is large, then the patient faces difficulty in breathing.
Bleeding: Painless bleeding through nose and throat, a very distinctive feature of throat cancer, occurs.
Swallowing: As the tumor grows, the patient will face difficulty while swallowing.
Lump: A swelling may be seen in the throat, neck or mouth.
Weight loss: Remarkable weight loss can be seen in patients with throat cancer.
Headache and pain in teeth: This is caused when the cancer cells engulf the trigeminal nerve.
Small nodules: Small sized nodules can be felt below the jaw and in the neck region.