The signs and symptoms of throat cancer can be common and also similar to any other disease, like, cold or infection in throat. However, these signs should not be ignored as they can be the indication of the cancer too.

This article briefs about throat cancer diagnosis methods and various available treatments to cure the disease.

Throat cancer Diagnosis

There are mainly four throat cancer detection processes:

• Biopsy

  It is a surgical process where a small cancerous tissue is removed and examined For the diagnosis of this cancer, there are three different kinds of biopsy methods that are further used to facilitate throat cancer cure:

  1. Conventional incisional biopsy

     This is the traditional and widely used biopsy method where a part or the whole cancerous tissue is removed.

  2. Fine-needle-aspiration biopsy (FNA)

     This method is mostly used when a lump is found in the neck. The process includes the injection of a thin needle into the suspected part and cells from there are withdrawn and examined under a microscope.

  3. Endoscopy

     A long, thin lighted tube (endoscope) is inserted through the mouth or nose for removing the sample cancerous tissue.

• Imaging tests

  Images are taken by different processes to locate and examine the cancerous tissue or the tumor.

  1. CT or CAT:

     Computed axial tomography scans

  2. PET:

     Positron emission tomography scans

  3. MRI:

     magnetic resonance imaging scans

  4. X-rays

• Barium swallow

  It is a set of X-rays of the esophagus and stomach to locate the throat cancer and examine how well the patient can swallow. The method is also known as an upper GI (gastrointestinal) series.

• Laryngeal videostroboscopy

  It is a method that enables the doctors to check how well the patients can swallow.

throat cancer Treatment

One thing to keep in mind is that throat cancer treatment cost is always on higher side.

• Surgery

  The throat cancer surgery is the method of removing cancerous parts of the throat surgically. In case of small tumor, the surgeries are often successful; however, if the tumor is large and has spread through the other parts of the body, it may require removal of whole parts jaw or voice box.

• Radiation therapy

  High dose of radiations are used to remove or kill the cancerous cells thereby accelerating throat cancer recovery.

• Chemotherapy

  This involves injection of the drugs through mouth or directly targeting the cancerous tissue to remove and kill the throat cancer.

• Best possible throat cancer prevention is quitting smoking and drinking.