Information on throat cancer

I have been searching for information on 'throat cancer' and have not been able to find any. Can you help?

You've had trouble because 'throat cancer' is not a precise medical term. So doctors generally don't use it. Many different types of cancer can develop in the throat. If we used such a general term, we'd all get confused and some people would get the wrong information.

The medical name for the throat is the pharynx. The easiest way to think of this is as a passage that makes sure food and drink go in one direction (down the gullet) and air in the other (up and down the windpipe). There are 3 parts to the pharynx, the

  • Oropharynx, at the back of the mouth, containing the soft palate and base of the tongue
  • Nasopharynx, connecting the back of the nose to the back of the mouth
  • Laryngopharynx connecting the oropharynx and nasopharynx to the start of the gullet (oesophagus) and the windpipe (trachea) via the voice box (larynx)

The laryngopharynx is sometimes called the hypopharynx. Throat cancer could mean cancer of any of these areas. The cancer we hear about most often is nasopharyngeal cancer.

Many patients and relatives also use throat cancer to mean cancer of the

It is important to know the exact name of the cancer to find the right information. Cancers are treated according to where they started. The treatment for mouth cancer will not be the same as treatment for cancer of the voice box. If you are not sure of the name of your cancer, ask your doctor or nurse to write it down for you.

Cancers that start in the head and neck area (for example, the tongue, the nose or the ear) are often grouped together under a general heading of head and neck cancer. Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell cancers. Squamous cell head and neck cancers don't usually spread to other body organs. But they can spread to lymph nodes (also called lymph glands) in the neck. Sometimes, the first sign of cancer that the person notices is an enlarged lymph node in the neck. People may also call this throat cancer but, again, it is a very different situation to cancer of the voice box or gullet.

On CancerHelp UK, there is information on cancers of the

Cancer of the trachea really comes under lung cancer. The trachea branches into two smaller tubes called the bronchi. It is more usual for lung cancer to start here, so it is sometimes called cancer of the bronchus or bronchial cancer.

Lots of people say it helps to talk to others who know what they are going through. If you are seeing a specialist in head and neck cancer, ask them if they can put you in touch with any other patients. That way, they may be near by. But with rare cancers, it is hard to find people with the same thing. The Mouth Cancer Foundation website has an online support group that provides practical advice and support for people affected by cancers of the head and neck. Their website also provides information on throat cancers.

Or there is mywavelength.com - a free web-based support network where you may be able to find other people who have the same cancer type as you.