Relearning to swallow after oral cancer
12/12/2005 Austin, TX staff www.news3austin.com The American Cancer Society predicts nearly 30,000 new cases of cancer in the oral cavity and pharynx will be diagnosed in 2005. It is more common in men than women -- primarily in men over age 50. People who use tobacco products and alcohol heavily are at an increased risk. Signs of oral cancer may include a sore that bleeds easily and doesn't heal, a lump or a thickening, a red or white patch that doesn't go away, or difficulties swallowing. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are all used, depending on many factors. "In the last 10 years or so, a lot more attempts are being made to treat patients non-surgically to avoid the functional and anatomic problems that come from surgery in the head and neck area," Dr. Bill Carroll, an otolaryngologist at the University of Alabama, said. As a result, doctors are using aggressive treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. "Radiation and chemotherapy are very effective in controlling a lot of these cancers, so the cancer cells die, but there is a price to be paid in the normal tissue," Carroll said. Radiation causes a lot of scar tissue, so patients lose not only many of the salivary glands but also the normal flexibility of the tissue. As a result, patients have severe pain while undergoing treatment. Patients have a feeding tube inserted prior to the beginning of treatment so at the height of their pain they can still get nutrients. Carroll and his colleagues [...]