• Webinar - Head and Neck Cancer
• Posted by: Dr Rajeev Sharan

In this video Dr Sharan introduces the signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer. People who smoke or consume tobacco are more likely to get head and neck cancer than those who do not. Consumptions pan masala, gutka, cigarettes, biris, zarda, khaini, etc. are common causes. The easy availability of tobacco in India due to us being the third largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the world, it has been found that 35% of the total adult population in India used tobacco and 14.1% of children between the ages of 13 to 15 use tobacco (mainly smokeless in the latter case). Dr Sharan presence data that shows the 71% of cancer deaths in India happen in people aged between 30 and 69 years. The major causes were oral (22.9%), stomach (12.6$) and lung (11.4%) in men, and cervical (17.1%), stomach (14.1%) and breast (10.2%) in women. The data shows that there were twice as many deaths from oral cancer than lung cancer. Dr Sharan then goes on to elaborate the process of tobacco causing cancer in people (4:40). The potentially malignant lesions are leukoplakia, erythroplakia, palatial lesion in reverse smoker, submucous fibrosis. The treatment of lesions are an immediate stop in tobacco consumption and consulting an oncologist. The symptoms are white or red patches in mouth, non-healing ulcer in mouth, swelling in neck, bleeding from mouth or nose, nasal blocks, difficulty in swallowing, hoarseness of voice and difficulty in breathing. Dr Sharan then presents a case study of a 52-year-old male teacher. Dr Sharan busts a few myths. Biopsy is essential and it does not aid the growth of cancer. Oral cancer can be cured and results depend on the stage of cancer. Dr Sharan adds that several public education campaigns are helping people recognise the early signs of the disease and are encouraging to seek medical attention for better prognosis. Such early detection of Cancer can save lives. More than a third of all cancers are preventable by reducing exposure to risk factors that include tobacco, obesity, physical inactivity, and sexually transmitted diseases. Screening programmes are available to detect cancer early.