Symptoms of salivary gland cancer

The most common symptom is a lump or swelling on or near your jaw, or in your mouth or neck. Remember this is a rare cancer and a lump in this area doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer. Around 3 out of 4 tumours of the salivary gland (75%) are not cancer – they are benign.

Other symptoms include

• Numbness in part of your face
• Drooping on one side of your face (facial palsy)
• Pain in the area
• Problems swallowing
• Difficulty opening your mouth fully
• Swelling on one side of your face

Remember all these symptoms can be caused by conditions other than cancer. This is a rare disease and it is much more likely that some other problem is causing your symptoms. But if you have any of these symptoms you should have a check up with your doctor. If it is a cancer, the sooner it is diagnosed the better. If it isn’t a cancer, there may well be treatment that will relieve or cure your symptoms.