The culprit for tonsil cancer you need to avoid

Smoking, alcoholism, oral use, poor oral hygiene . are risk factors for tonsil cancer.

Dr. Lam Duc Hoang, Head of Department of Radiotherapy 3, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, said tonsils cancer is a common disease, accounting for 13-15% of head and neck cancer. Men get 4 times more ill than women, often at age 50-60.

The tonsils are located on either side of the mouth of the mouth, can be identified with mirrors or flashlights. Noting at the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital in 2007, over 90% of tonsil cancer was discovered when it was late.

There are many reasons why this regional cancer is found late.

Symptoms are quite vague

According to Dr. Hoang, symptoms are not specific, often in ENT specialty.

1. Swallowing : The earliest sign, feeling like having a small object or having a fish bone on one side of the mouth, lasts for more than a month.
2. Painful swallowing : The most common sign, which indicates cancer begins to invade. Patients or subjective, not going to the clinic early for swallowing pain are also common when sore throat.
3. Ear pain : Appears later, the feeling of swallowing aches to the ear.
4. Spitting blood , limited opening of the mouth is a warning sign of late stage, the tumor has spread and invaded the jaw muscles.
5. Lymphadenopathy : Not many patients come for examination because only the neck lymph nodes are isolated, but a thorough examination reveals primary cancer in the tonsils. 70-80% of tonsil cancer at diagnosis has lymph node metastasis.

Positions can spread.

Tonsils are sensitive areas

Doctor Hoang analyzed, the mouth throat was the place where the sensory nerves dominated, easily causing nausea and vomiting reactions. Therefore this area can be considered as "inviolable" area. Doctors are very difficult to observe and examine carefully.

Patients may subjectively think that the above signs are due to the common sense or too much, only tonsillitis. The patient believed that taking the medicine was off and did not know it was also a sign of tonsil cancer.

Tonsil is a very common site of infection, common in all ages. Cancer of the tonsils is easily confused with swollen tonsils on one side, so the doctor is also subjective and omitted. Usually when a person with one-sided swelling of the tonsils is often recommended to remove tonsils or biopsies.

If the tonsil has been cut, the remaining tonsils may still have cancer.

Risk factors

1. Smoking, the risk depends on the number of cigarettes, the number of years of smoking and the age of smoking.
2. Alcoholism is six times more dangerous. Smoking and drinking alcohol are 15 times more likely to smoke.
3. Oral sex habits.
4. HPV type 16.
5. In addition, poor oral hygiene, chronic inflammation also increases the risk of tonsil cancer.

According to Dr. Hoang, the 5-year survival prognosis after stage 1 treatment is 80-90%, the second stage is 70-80%, the third stage is 60-70% and the fourth stage is only 30-50%.