National Journal – The majority of patients with head and neck cancer are or were smokers

Eight out of ten patients with cancer of the head and neck seen at the State Cancer Institute of São Paulo (Icesp) are or have been smokers. For this reason, doctors issue an alert to all Brazilians.

The watchful eye of the dentist, doctor or health worker is the main alarm. Before they appear on more sophisticated imaging tests, head and neck cancers can be felt, heard or seen with the naked eye.

Smear or sores on the lips and mouth that do not disappear in two weeks; bruising caused by poorly fitting dental prostheses; hoarseness that does not go away; difficulty swallowing and nodules in the neck are signs that should not be ignored.

"Ideally, this should not take more than two, three, four weeks to, for example, establish this tumor diagnosis it receives its treatment with excellent chances of cure," says Claudio Cernea, head of head and neck surgery at the Hospital das Clínicas de São Paulo

Not yet what is happening in Brazil. Even in São Paulo, most patients are slow to discover and treat the disease.

"About 60% arrive in an advanced state, they go through a long routine until they make the diagnosis, sometimes it takes time to get to the specialized department, so a small tumor becomes an important tumor in 60% of cases, 70% of the time, "says Marco Aurelio Vamondes Kulcsar, head and neck surgery director of the State of São Paulo Cancer Institute. (Icesp)

Careful observation and rapid diagnosis and treatment can alter the course of the disease and increase the likelihood of cure to more than 70%. and the neck will require another type of effort.

A survey of the State of São Paulo Cancer Institute shows that eight in ten patients with cancer of the head and neck are or have been smokers, alcohol consumption is present in 50% of case

Smoking and excess drinking increase the risk of over a hundred times

The former smoker Zildo is prepared for surgery. It will take a small tumor on the discovered tongue soon, thanks to the dentist.

"It will be all right, a quick procedure, everything will be fine, thank goodness, they are excellent professionals, I soon found out," says Marina, Zildo's niece.