Head and neck cancer is a term used to denote cancer that develops in the mouth, throat, neck, nose, sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid or other areas of the head and neck. Most of these cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, or cancers that begin in the lining of the mouth, nose and throat. Eighty-five percent of head and neck cancers are linked to tobacco use, and 75 percent are associated with a combination of tobacco and alcohol use.
Since majority of them are caused by tobacco-alcohol addiction and/or poor nutrition, they are preventable cancers. Yet, they form the bulk of head neck cancers in our country, with untold suffering and massive socioeconomic loss.
Head neck cancers and their treatment involve critical aspects of living like breathing, smelling, talking, eating, swallowing, and appearance. As the treatment modalities have evolved, there have been improvement in survival, and patients therefore have to live longer with its sequelae.
A lifetime of frequent and careful follow-up is important because such patients have an increased risk of developing a recurrence or a second cancer.
