The difference between laryngeal cancer and pharyngitis in women

Laryngeal cancer is a disease with a very high mortality rate, and judging from the incidence rate of laryngeal cancer, women are more likely to develop laryngeal cancer than men. Therefore, female friends must pay attention to the presence of laryngeal cancer when they get older. Laryngeal cancer mainly refers to a cancer problem caused by a tumor inside the patient's throat. If it is not treated in time, it will cause the cancer cells to spread. So what is the difference between female laryngeal cancer and pharyngitis?

Early symptoms of laryngeal cancer can be easily confused with pharyngitis

The early symptoms of non-glottic laryngeal cancer are atypical. In many cases, they present as a foreign body sensation in the throat, sore throat, discomfort in swallowing, and hoarseness, etc. These symptoms have many similarities with pharyngitis, so they are often mistaken for "getting angry" or a pharyngitis attack. If symptomatic treatment is still ineffective and symptoms such as hoarseness, sore throat, foreign body sensation in the throat, and swallowing discomfort persist for more than one month, it is recommended to go to the hospital as soon as possible to rule out laryngeal cancer.

Laryngeal cancer usually has 6 major manifestations

1. Hoarseness. Glottic laryngeal cancer is the most common type of laryngeal cancer in Guangdong. Because the tumor grows on the vocal cords, it is easy to cause hoarseness symptoms in the early stages. For patients over 40 years old who have hoarseness for more than 1 month, it is recommended to go to the hospital as soon as possible to rule out laryngeal cancer.

2. Sensation of foreign body in the throat, feeling of obstruction, and discomfort when swallowing. For people over 50 years old who experience the above symptoms repeatedly for more than one month, they need to be alert to the risk of laryngeal cancer.

3. Bloody sputum. If you see a small amount of blood in your sputum, especially the first sputum in the morning, you should be highly alert to the risk of throat cancer.

4. Sore throat. If the symptoms do not improve after about 2 weeks of standardized treatment, you should be alert to malignant tumors, because the mucosal ulcers formed by the tumor can cause pain.

5. Swallowing disorders and breathing difficulties are relatively late symptoms. But doctors say that about 60 to 70% of patients, especially those with non-glottic laryngeal cancer, do not seek medical treatment until this time, and often find that the cancer has reached an advanced stage, greatly reducing the value and efficacy of treatment.

6. Lump in the neck. Laryngeal cancer, especially supraglottic laryngeal cancer, is more likely to metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes and form a neck mass. Some patients often seek medical treatment with a neck lump as the first symptom or even the only symptom. If a lump appears in the neck and medical treatment is not sought promptly, it will often delay diagnosis and treatment and affect the treatment effect. Therefore, Dr. Tian Shenzhi solemnly reminds that if patients find a lump in the neck, they should pay special attention and go to the ENT department as soon as possible to check for related diseases, especially tumor lesions.