4 warning signs of nasopharyngeal ca.n.c.er that are most easily overlooked
There are 4 symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer that are often overlooked because these signs can easily be confused with common diseases of the ENT. Nasopharyngeal cancer is a malignant disease originating from the nasopharyngeal mucosa, which is the upper part of the throat, right behind the nose. The disease is quite common in the Asian community, especially in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. The age group with the highest risk of getting the disease is around 40-60. Men are 3 times more likely to get the disease than women. The earlier the disease is detected, the higher the chance of curing the disease. In stage I, the 5-year survival rate is 72%.
More notably, among those with the disease, up to 70% of cases discover the disease when it is in the final stage, greatly shortening their chance of regaining their lives. According to doctors at Lac Viet Hospital, the main reason is that patients often ignore unusual signs because the symptoms of early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer are often unclear and very similar to common ear, nose and throat diseases:
1. Headache
In the early stages, patients with nasopharyngeal cancer often have a dull headache, not in attacks. In the advanced stage, the headache increases in severity, the headache is continuous, the pain spreads from the affected side to the opposite side.
2. Tinnitus
Patients often have tinnitus on one side, tinnitus with a deep sound like the sound of grinding rice or cicadas chirping. In the later stages, patients have continuous tinnitus, hearing loss and often have physical damage to the eardrum on the affected side.
3. Nasal congestion on one side
Nasal congestion is a symptom that is easily confused with common ear, nose and throat diseases
At first, the patient has occasional congestion, accompanied by a faint nosebleed like fish blood. These symptoms are easily confused with internal medicine, neurological diseases…
4. Difficulty speaking, hoarseness
Symptoms of hoarseness accompanied by difficulty swallowing that last for an unknown period of time. If this symptom lasts for 3 weeks or more without improvement, the patient should go to a specialist facility for immediate cancer screening.
The difference between nasopharyngeal cancer and other common diseases is that the symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer are often on the same side and increase gradually. Patients who buy medicine on their own and take it for a while will still not feel better, and the symptoms will continue to recur.
Other signs of nasopharyngeal cancer:
– Swollen neck, swollen lymph nodes at the jaw angle
Because the nasopharynx has a rich lymphatic tissue structure, when cancer cells appear, they will quickly spread throughout the neck. When cancer cells develop, it will lead to hard lymph nodes in the neck even though there is no pain. This is the most common location of lymph node metastasis. Many patients have enlarged lymph nodes in the mandibular angle before the above symptoms appear.
– Cranial nerve palsy
When the tumor spreads to the base of the skull, it will damage the cranial nerves. These nerves can be damaged alone. The most common signs are strabismus, double vision, facial numbness, tongue distortion, and later signs of choking may occur…
In addition, when a malignant tumor in the nasopharynx spreads to other nearby organs in the body such as the lips and mouth, lymph nodes… the patient may experience symptoms such as: enlarged lymph nodes and spread to other locations, loss of sensation in the throat, nasal discharge with blood, severe headache, hearing loss, visual disturbances…