DIAGNOSTICS
THE JOURNEY STARTS HERE
It is important that any changes in your health, especially those that come on suddenly or cause significant impact to your quality of life, are investigated and diagnosed.
Some changes in your health including finding lumps in your mouth, difficulty or pain when swallowing, lump in your neck or jaw could be signs of cancer. It is important that these conditions be investigated, and a treatment programme is undertaken as soon as possible for the best chance of treating these conditions.
60% of the patients referred for suspected head and neck cancers, will not be diagnosed with cancer and will have conditions that can be treated alternatively. (CRUK, 2022)
Common head and neck cancers include
• Oral cavity (Mouth) cancer
• Laryngeal cancer
• Oropharynx (Throat) cancer
• Salivary gland cancer
• Nasal and sinus cancer
• Nasopharyngeal cancer
When you come in for an appointment for diagnosis, the consultant will take a complete medical history and assess your symptoms and risk factors. The following tests may be undertaken
- Physical examination
- Blood tests
- Endoscopy
- Biopsy
- Biomarker testing of the tumour
- Panoramic radiograph
- Ultrasound
- CT or CAT Scan
- MRI
- PET-CT scan
