Nuclear Oncology

Posts Tagged ‘Radiation therapy’

Laryngeal cancer is cancer cells appear in the larynx. The larynx where the vocal cords, is a short passage in a triangle, which lies just below the pharynx in the neck.

SYMPTOMS
sore throat that does not disappear
pain on swallowing
a change in voice or hoarseness frank
pain in one ear
a neck mass.

DIAGNOSIS

The specialist will slide down your throat a tube with a special light on one end and observe the larynx (laryngoscopy). If abnormal tissue is found, you must remove a piece (biopsy) and looked at under a microscope to determine the presence of cancer cells. Also feel the throat for lumps.

Staging

Stage I. The cancer is only in the area where it started and has not spread to lymph nodes in the area or other body parts ..
Stage II Cancer is found only in the larynx and has not spread to lymph nodes in the area or other body parts.
Stage III. Any of these situations define a stage III:

The cancer has not spread outside the larynx, but no vocal cords can move normally.
The cancer has spread to tissues next to the larynx, or
The cancer has spread to one lymph node on the same side of the neck and the lymph node is no more than 3 cm.

Stage IV. Any of these situations define a stage IV

The cancer has spread to tissues around the larynx, pharynx or as the tissues in the neck.
The cancer has spread to more than one lymph node on the same side of the neck as the cancer to lymph nodes on one or both sides of the neck
The cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

TREATMENT

Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells)
Surgery (removing the cancer)
Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells).

Brachytherapy is a type of radiation therapy used to treat cancer. Radiation therapy uses a type of energy called ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

Unlike external beam therapy (EBT) in which beams of high energy X-rays generated by a machine are directed at the tumor from outside the body, brachytherapy involves placing radioactive material directly into or near the tumor.

Brachytherapy, also called internal radiation therapy allows the physician to use a higher total dose to treat a smaller area in less time than is possible with external radiation treatment.

Brachytherapy is used to treat cancers throughout the body, including to:

* Prostate
* Cervix
* Head and neck
* Skin
* Breast – see page “Breast Cancer”
* Gallbladder
* Uterus
* Vagina
* Lung
* Straight
* Eye Read the rest of this entry »