Cancer, unlike other fatal diseases, is no longer considered to be a diagnosis with no hope. While some cancers still remain incurable, the scientific community has found a variety of treatments which work well to battle certain cancers in different stages. Throat cancer is one of the rarer forms which appear in the human body, but when caught in the earlier stages, it is very treatable and many patients go on with life without a return of the cancerous cells.
Seeking Early Treatment when noticing Symptoms and First Signs of Throat Cancer:
Throat cancer has some obvious first signs and symptoms, but these usually appear in the mid to late stages of the disease. This makes it more difficult to detect it during the early stages, which would offer the highest successful treatment rate. The most common early symptoms and first signs of throat cancer is a patients experience change in their voice or severe hoarseness.
When you begin to notice symptoms, it is extremely important to speak to a doctor as soon as you can. Sometimes these symptoms may be due to other illnesses, but if it is out of the ordinary for you, it is worth reporting, especially if the symptom continues for a long time, and is not accompanied by telltale signs of a cold or flu.
The earlier treatment is sought, even in later stages of cancer, the higher the throat cancer survival rate. This is because as the disease progresses, it begins to spread to the lymphatic system, and other internal organs, making it difficult to catch or eradicate completely. Surgical procedures become impossible once the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, and radiation and chemotherapy are not always successful in late stages.
Survival Rate By Stage:
When it comes to throat cancer survival rates, it is important to remember that there is always a chance that the cancer will return, no matter how successful the treatment has been. Because of this, doctors offer survival rates over a series of years, rather than a lifetime. One of the more common time frames to use is a span of 5 years.
As mentioned above, the earlier the stage that it is detected, the higher the throat cancer survival rate. For example, in stage one, the 5-year rate of survival is 90%, while the precancerous stage or stage 0 offers a higher rate between the 90% and 100% rate. Stage 0-1 occurs when the tumor is smaller than 7 cm in size and is contained only in the throat.
Stage 2 throat cancer has a slightly lower rate because the tumor has grown past the initial stages of 7 cm, although it is still contained only in the throat. Men and women within this stage have a 74% survival rate over a 5-year period.
As the cancer begins to spread, possibly reaching the lymph nodes, stage 3 sets in. While it is harder to fight off the disease at this stage, the odds are still favorable at 56% over 5 years. At this point, surgical procedures alone become impractical and chemotherapy may be introduced.
Stage 4, which is the harshest stagem has the lowest throat cancer survival rate, but not nearly the lowest rates of survival in terms of all cancers. Believe it or not, at 44%, there is still plenty to hope for survival, and with a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy men and women can live on and beat the disease.
