Head and neck cancer

There are more than 30 areas within the head and neck where cancer can develop, including the:

mouth (including the lips) voice box (larynx) throat (pharynx)  salivary glands nose and sinuses area at the back of the nose and mouth (nasopharynx)

Oesophageal (gullet) cancer, thyroid cancer, brain tumours and eye cancer don’t tend to be classified as a head and neck cancer.


mouth (including the lips) voice box (larynx) throat (pharynx)  salivary glands nose and sinuses area at the back of the nose and mouth (nasopharynx)

Oesophageal (gullet) cancer, thyroid cancer, brain tumours and eye cancer don’t tend to be classified as a head and neck cancer.

Symptoms

a change in the voice, such as persistent hoarseness difficulty or pain when swallowing noisy breathing shortness of breath a persistent cough a lump or swelling in your neck

Read more about laryngeal cancer.


To read more about salivary gland cancer, visit Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.


a lump in the neck, due to the cancer spreading to the lymph nodes (pea-sized lumps of tissue that make up part of the immune system) in the neck a blocked or stuffy nose nosebleeds hearing loss (usually only in one ear)

Read more about nasopharyngeal cancer.