Cancer

Question 0

What are the risk factors for laryngeal cancer?

Answer 0

Tobacco, alcohol, poor nutrition, GERD/LPR, papilloma virus, weakened immune system

Question 1

What is cancer?

Answer 1

Cancer is when a good cell goes bad. It occurs when there is damage to a cells’s suicide program, a cell does not receive or recognize suicide signals, defective genes for IDing DNA defects, or defective genes overriding the suicide.

Question 2

What are the symptoms of alaryngeal cancer?

Answer 2

Persistent cough
Persistent hoarseness
Prolonged sore throat/ear pain
Dysphagia
Dyspnea/strider
Unexplained weight loss
Lump in the throat/neck

Question 3

How is laryngeal cancer treated?

Answer 3

Radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy

Question 4

How do cancer cells differ from normal cells?

Answer 4

Cancer cells function poorly or not at all and they reproduce too fast (rate of reproduction exceeds rate of death).

Question 5

What are the stages based on and percentages of T stages

Answer 5

Location of the tumor, extent of the tumor, metastasis;
Rate of node metastasis:
T1: 1.9%
T2: 16.7%
T3: 25%
T4: 65%

Question 6

What are the effects of radiation on a laryngeal communication?

Answer 6

Xerostomia, dysphagia, decreased tissue compliance ( doesn’t vibrate very well), reduced loudness, decreased quality, decreased phonation time, slower speech rate, artificial larynx speech not necessarily effected, recovery in about 60 days.

Question 7

What causes cancer?

Answer 7

Inheritance, a virus, chemicals, radiation.

Question 8

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)

Answer 8

In stage 0, abnormal cells are found in the lining of the larynx. These abnormal cells may become cancer and spread into nearby normal tissue. Stage 0 is also called carcinoma in situ.

Question 9

Stage I

Answer 9

In stage I, cancer has formed. Stage I laryngeal cancer depends on where cancer began in the larynx:

Supraglottis: Cancer is in one area of the supraglottis only and the vocal cords can move normally.
Glottis: Cancer is in one or both vocal cords and the vocal cords can move normally.
Subglottis: Cancer is in the subglottis only.

Question 10

Stage 2

Answer 10

In stage II, cancer is in the larynx only. Stage II laryngeal cancer depends on where cancer began in the larynx:

Supraglottis: Cancer is in more than one area of the supraglottis or surrounding tissues.
Glottis: Cancer has spread to the supraglottis and/or the subglottis and/or the vocal cords cannot move normally.
Subglottis: Cancer has spread to one or both vocal cords, which may not move normally.

Question 11

Stage 3

Answer 11

Stage III laryngeal cancer depends on whether cancer has spread from the supraglottis, glottis, or subglottis.
3 centimeters or smaller.

Question 12

Stage 4

Answer 12

Spread to lymph node or outside of the neck.