Rakesh Roshan Has Early Stage Throat Cancer - How Can You Stay Safe?

In a shocking post on Instagram, Hrithik Roshan revealed how his father, the veteran actor Rakesh Roshan, has been diagnosed with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat or in simple terms throat cancer.  

For someone who dedicatedly takes care of his health, this news came in as a startling reminder of the possibility that such a condition can happen to anyone anytime.

What is Early Stage Throat Cancer?

Throat cancer refers to cancerous tumours that typically affect the voice box, vocal cord, tonsils and oropharynx. Early stage throat cancer ranges from stage I to stage III. The good thing is that it is curable only if diagnosed early. Treatment generally involves surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of both.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of throat cancer where the disease develops on the cells lining the wall of the throat.

What are the Major Risks Leading to Throat Cancer?

Certain factors heighten the possible occurrence of throat cancer like:

• Excessive smoking and chewing of tobacco
• Regular consumption of alcohol
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Lack of healthy diet

What are the Possible Signs of Throat Cancer?

Symptoms of early-stage throat cancer often tend to merge with signs of common infection. However, if any of the following symptoms continue to persist, one should seek urgent medical assistance.

1. Dysphagia
2. A sore throat
3. Sudden weight loss
4. The abrupt change in voice
5. A continuous cough including the presence of blood
6. The constant need to clear throat
7. Wheezing
8. Ear pain

Treatment Options

Following the identification of the disease, the stage of the cancer is determined, which helps in deciding treatment options.

• Radiation - Radiation involves emission of high-energy beams from X-rays or protons that directly eliminate cancer cells. For the initial stages, this is an extremely effective way of treatment.
• Surgery - Surgery is referred to when the cancer cells are limited to the vocal cords. Here endoscopy is used to scrape off the infected portion. In situations where the voice box is infected, doctors try to save as much area of the voice box that they can. This helps in retaining the patient’s ability to speak and breathe normally. For extensive tumours, it becomes necessary to surgically remove the entire voice box and speech has to be restored using speech therapy.
• Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy works by injecting drugs into the bloodstream. It is prescribed together with radiation to treat cancer cells. It, however, leaves room for long-term side effects and the consequences must be discussed thoroughly with the physician.

Prevention Measures

There are no substantial ways to prevent throat cancer. However, you can minimize its possibility by incorporating certain healthy practices -

1. Quit smoking and use of tobacco
2. Limiting alcohol intake
3. Following a balanced and healthy diet
4. Protecting oneself from HPV
5. Regularly going for preventive health checkups

As the saying goes ‘prevention is better than cure,’ it is necessary to follow a healthy lifestyle. With proper treatment during initial stages, there are positive chances of winning over the disease.