Information on throat cancer

I have been searching for information about throat cancer and have not been able to find any. Can you help?

You've had trouble because throat cancer is not a precise medical term. So doctors generally don't use it. There are different structures and areas within the throat and they have different names. If we used a general term like throat cancer, we'd all get confused and some people would get the wrong information.

The medical name for the throat is the pharynx. The easiest way to think of this is as a passage that makes sure food and drink go in one direction (down the food pipe) and air in the other (up and down the windpipe). There are 3 main parts to the pharynx.  They are the

  • Nasopharynx, which connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth
  • Oropharynx, which is at the back of the mouth and contains the soft palate, base of the tongue and back wall of the throat (posterior pharyngeal wall)
  • Hypopharynx which connects the oropharynx and nasopharynx to the start of the food pipe (oesophagus) and the windpipe (trachea) via the voice box (larynx)

The hypopharynx is sometimes called the laryngopharynx. 

Many patients and relatives also use throat cancer to mean cancer of the

It is important to know the exact name of the cancer to find the right information. Cancers are treated according to where they started and the type of cell they started from. The treatment for mouth cancer will not be the same as treatment for cancer of the voice box. If you are not sure of the name of your cancer, you can ask your doctor or nurse to write it down for you.

Cancers that start in the head and neck area (for example, the tongue, the nose or the ear) are often grouped together under a general heading of head and neck cancer. Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell cancers. Squamous cell head and neck cancers don't usually spread to other body organs. But they can spread to lymph nodes (also called lymph glands) in the neck. Sometimes, the first sign of cancer that a person notices is an enlarged lymph node in the neck.

On CancerHelp UK there is information about cancers of the

Cancer of the trachea really comes under lung cancer. The trachea branches into two smaller tubes called the main bronchi. It is more usual for lung cancer to start here, so it is sometimes called cancer of the bronchus or bronchial cancer.

Lots of people say it helps to talk to other people who know what they are going through. If you are seeing a specialist in head and neck cancer, ask them if they can put you in touch with any other patients. That way, they may be near by. But with rare cancers, it is hard to find people with the same condition. The Mouth Cancer Foundation website has an online support group that offers practical advice and support for people affected by cancers of the head and neck. Their website also provides information about throat cancers.

Check out Cancer Chat – Cancer Research UK's discussion forum. It is a place for anyone affected by cancer to share experiences, stories and information with other people who know what you are going through. Or there is mywavelength.com – a free web based support network where you may be able to find other people who have the same cancer type as you.