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Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.

Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Most treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Some may involve hormone therapy, immunotherapy or other types of biologic therapy, or stem cell transplantation.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Cancer chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment. It uses medicines to destroy cancer cells.

Normally, the cells in your body grow and die in a controlled way. Cancer cells keep growing without control. Chemotherapy works by killing the cancer cells, stopping them from spreading, or slowing their growth.

Chemotherapy is used to:

• Treat cancer by curing the cancer, lessening the chance it will return, or stopping or slowing its growth.
• Ease cancer symptoms by shrinking tumors that are causing pain and other problems.

Chemotherapy does not just destroy cancer cells. It can also harm some healthy cells, which causes side effects.

You may have a lot of side effects, some side effects, or none at all. It depends on the type and amount of chemotherapy you get and how your body reacts.

Some common side effects are:

• Mouth sores
• Fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pain
• Hair loss

There are ways to prevent or control some side effects. Talk with your health care provider about how to manage them. Healthy cells usually recover after chemotherapy is over, so most side effects gradually go away.

You may get chemotherapy in a hospital or at home, a doctor's office, or a medical clinic. You might be given the medicines by mouth, in a shot, as a cream, through a catheter, or intravenously (by IV).

Your treatment plan will depend on the type of cancer you have, which chemotherapy medicines are used, the treatment goals, and how your body responds to the medicines.

Chemotherapy may be given alone or with other treatments. You may get treatment every day, every week, or every month. You may have breaks between treatments so that your body has a chance to build new healthy cells.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Head and neck cancer is the name for cancers that develop in the mouth, nose and sinuses, salivary glands, and throat and voice box (larynx). Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell cancers. They begin in the moist tissues that line the head and neck. The cancer cells may spread into deeper tissue as the cancer grows.

There are other cancers that develop in the head and neck, such as brain cancer, eye cancer, and esophageal cancer. But they are usually not considered to be head and neck cancers, because those types of cancer and their treatments are different.

Anyone can get head and neck cancer, but you are more likely to develop it if you:

• Use tobacco or drink lots of alcohol. Your risk of developing head and neck cancer is even higher if you do both.
• Are male.
• Are over age 50.
• Have a history of head or neck cancer.
• Have HPV (for cancers in the tonsils and base of the tongue).
• Are exposed to wood dusts or certain other toxic substances at work (for upper throat, nose, and sinus cancers).
• Have had radiation exposure to the head and neck (for salivary gland cancer).
• Have Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection (for upper throat and salivary gland cancers).
• Are Asian (for upper throat cancer).

The symptoms of head and neck cancer may include:

• A lump in the neck
• A sore in the mouth or the throat that does not heal and may be painful
• A sore throat that does not go away
• Trouble swallowing
• A change or hoarseness in the voice

Other possible symptoms can depend on the specific type of head and neck cancer.

Which exams and tests used to diagnose head and neck cancer can depend on the specific type of cancer. Possible exams and tests may include:

• A physical exam of the area that might have cancer.
• Blood and/or urine tests.
• An endoscopy.
• A biopsy or other procedure to collect cells from the area that might have cancer. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.
• Imaging tests.

The treatment for head and neck cancer will depend on the specific type of cancer, the stage (how advanced the cancer is), your overall health, and other factors. The treatment options might include:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that mainly attack specific cancer cells and cause less harm to normal cells

In some cases, you may need a combination of treatments. Sometimes surgery can affect how well you can chew, swallow, or talk. Rehabilitation, such as physical therapy, dietary counseling, and speech therapy, may help.

There are steps you can take to help prevent head and neck cancer:

• Not smoking
• Limiting alcohol use or not drinking at all
• Getting regular dental exams
• Talking to your provider about HPV vaccination

NIH: National Cancer Institute