Symptoms in the late stages of nasopharyngeal cancer

This is an automatically translated article.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is the leading disease in head and neck cancers and ranks 5th in cancers in general. The symptoms of the disease are quite silent in the early stages, but in the later stages, the disease progresses rapidly, causing the immune system to weaken, the tumor can metastasize, increasing the risk of death for the patient.

1. Stages of nasopharyngeal cancer

Nasopharyngeal cancer progresses through 4 stages:
Nasopharyngeal cancer stage 1 (also known as early stage): Clinical manifestations are not clear, easily misdiagnosed with other diseases. Stage 2 nasopharyngeal cancer: Symptoms appear with a continuous and frequent probability frequency, and are more intense. Stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer: Symptoms occur more often, continuously and intensely along with symptoms of the parts the cancer has spread to. Stage 4 nasopharyngeal cancer: As the final stage of the disease, the patient is in serious health decline. The distinguishing feature of nasopharyngeal cancer is that the symptoms often occur side by side and increase gradually. Nasopharyngeal cancer progresses over time, if care and treatment is not timely, improper treatment is applied, the impact on the wrong stage will make the disease progress faster to the final stage, reducing age. life expectancy, increasing the risk of premature death.

2. Manifestations of late stage nasopharyngeal cancer

Clinical manifestations of end-stage nasopharyngeal cancer:
Headache: Often severe migraine, the more advanced the tumor, the more advanced the tumor, the more obvious and frequent the headache, can be The pain comes on suddenly. Pain with pain relievers did not improve much. Difficulty speaking, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing can cause pain. Continuous tinnitus, hearing loss, some severe cases with deafness. Otoscopy can show purulent ear infections, unpleasant odors. Nasal congestion, nasal mucus discharge, may be accompanied by bleeding, pus and necrotic tissues. Swollen lymph nodes: The most common are the mandibular and cervical lymph nodes. Initially, the lymph nodes are small, firm, and painless. Then gradually the lymph nodes also grow in size, enlarged lymph nodes cause pressure on the surrounding areas, pain, pus discharge, even necrotic tissues, unpleasant odors. There are signs of damage to the cranial nerves such as paralysis or numbness of the half face, strabismus, muscle paralysis... End stage nasopharyngeal cancer, malignant tumors spreading and metastases to other parts of the body. such as lymphoma, lung cancer,... Therefore, clinically, patients can also see symptoms of other areas of damage.

3. Care notes for nasopharyngeal cancer patients

During cancer treatment, patient care is extremely important to support effective treatment. For patients with late stage nasopharyngeal cancer, it is important to note:
3.1 Have a reasonable lifestyle There should be a special diet for patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, especially in the early stages. In the last stage, the cooking method is easy to eat but still must ensure to provide enough nutrients for the body to be able to strengthen the resistance of the patient, help the treatment process and restore the patient's health better.
Should choose foods or dishes that are soft, liquid, easy to swallow. Eat small meals throughout the day to increase food absorption. Follow a complete nutritional regimen according to the instructions of the treating doctor. Stimulants such as alcohol should be avoided. Avoid tobacco use. If the patient is a smoker, he should quit smoking.

3.2 Let the patient have a comfortable thought. Mentally motivate, strengthen the psychology, encourage the patient to have the energy to overcome the disease. At this stage, family and loved ones are extremely important to the patient. Let the patient have a comfortable mind, avoid stress, excessive anxiety can make the disease worse.
3.3 Correct treatment For the patient to use drugs and treat according to the method as well as the treatment process prescribed by the doctor.
End stage nasopharyngeal cancer is often difficult to treat. What can be done is only to support the patient's health, improve the resistance, help the patient to be healthy enough to fight the disease, prolong the patient's life time and prevent the further progression of the disease. .
The package of screening, and early detection of oropharyngeal, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers at Vinmec International General Hospital includes:
Full range of necessary services for early detection of oropharyngeal cancer Detecting abnormalities When registering for the screening package, and early detection of cancer of the oropharynx, pharynx and larynx, customers will be screened for nasopharyngeal - hypopharyngeal - laryngeal cancer. through general otolaryngology examination with hard or soft endoscope; Software ultrasound, thereby detecting the disease early, improving the effectiveness of treatment, increasing the survival rate for patients.
You can find out more about the screening package and early detection of nasopharyngeal cancer as well as other service packages of Vinmec International General Hospital through the nationwide system HERE.
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