DIAGNOSIS
Your doctor will ask questions regarding your symptoms and medical history. Afterward, he will conduct a physical exam to examine the throat and neck.
Other diagnostic tests are:
- Imaging scans that provide a clear image of the body;
- Laryngoscopy that examines the larynx;
- PET scan that highlights the abnormal areas of the body; and
- A biopsy that examines abnormal tissues in the larynx.
Additionally, classifying cancer by stage is part of the diagnosis. Your doctor will check how far the tumor has grown, how severe the disease is, or where it has infected the body.
Laryngeal cancer stages include:
- Early laryngeal cancer (stages 0, 2, 3). The tumor is still small and has not yet spread beyond the larynx.
- Advanced laryngeal cancer (stages 3 & 4). The tumor has grown larger and has already infected the vocal cords and other areas of the body.
TREATMENT
A laryngeal cancer care team consists of multiple experts in various fields. Moreover, laryngeal cancer treatment includes:
- Radiation therapy- reduces and kills the cancer cells to avoid further damage
- Chemotherapy- slows or kills the cancer cells’ growth and deals with more advanced symptoms that cannot be fully removed
- Immunotherapy- fights the cancer cells
- Surgery- removes the tumor to preserve the larynx
It would be best to seek your doctor to diagnose your disease as early as possible.
