Laryngeal cancer: Compare Costs for a treatment abroad

About the disease

Laryngeal cancer is a tumor, which primarily forms in larynx tissues. In most case men from 40 to 70 years old get laryngeal cancer; only 8 of 100 women can get laryngeal cancer.

According to researchers from Stanford Health and Chronix Biomedical whose article was published in News Medical (medical journal) they detected exact mutations and chromosomes that can trigger laryngeal cancer. It turns out that certain viruses are responsible for developing laryngeal cancer. This type of cancer can also be triggered by a number of larynx diseases, which are called precancerous. Sometimes even a sore throat, that disturbed the patient for a long time, can result in growth of cancerous cells.

Symptoms

• Coughing with the blood
• Choking
• Indigestion
• Weight loss
• Weakness
• Voice loses its sonority
• Difficulty in breathing

Diagnosis

• External examination, when doctor assesses condition of the skin, the shape of the neck
• Palpation of the neck - the mobility of the larynx, lymph node status
• Indirect laryngoscopy is a diagnostic method when a doctor uses special mirror to detect pathology. For closer evaluation doctors usually use the indirect laryngoscopy, which can be done in the hospital during the regular check up. The technique is fairly simple, but is considered obsolete because of the fact that specialist can not fully explore the larynx, 30 - 35% of cases can not be detected. Indirect laryngoscopy can determine boundaries of the tumor, growth pattern, condition (mobility) of vocal cords.

Treatment

• Radiation. Radiation therapy uses high X-ray or other radiation to destroy neoplastic cells. External radiation therapy uses radioactive rays, directed at laryngeal tumor. Internal radiation therapy transmits radioactive substances through needles, tubes or catheters. Choice of method depends on radiation therapy type and laryngeal cancer staging.
• Larynx resection with tracheostoma placement is an innovative type of surgery, which removes larynx and places tracheostoma in its place. Doctors can also perform surgical removal of half of the larynx. In this case it is still possible to preserve the voice. The patient's speech can also be saved. In some cases patients need to undergo surgical removal of the entire larynx. This procedure is called a tracheotomy. The voice can rarely be saved.
• Laser surgery: laser makes bloodless incisions that can remove the tissue located inside the patient`s body. 
• Chemotherapy. This treatment uses cytotoxic drugs that can slow the malignant tumor growth. The drugs destroy circulating tumor cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). If the chemotherapy is administered directly into the spinal canal, this kind of treatment is called regional chemotherapy.