About 12,200 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK every year
Rodney Street in Birkenhead(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
This week health officials in the UK have launched a new public awareness campaign to help men in areas of Merseyside spot early signs of head and neck cancer and increase their chances of life-saving treatment.
The Head and Neck Cancer Timely Presentation Campaign is urging anyone who is at greater risk of the disease to check themselves for possible symptoms more regularly and seek medical help, if needed. This affects people in Kirkby and Birkenhead much more than the national average.
Head and neck cancers are little known by the public despite becoming more common, especially in Merseyside. Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said: “Earlier detection of cancer gives people a much better chance of successful treatment.”
The new 10-week campaign encourages people to check their head, face, and neck for anything unusual each month. Three quick steps to help people check for potential symptoms have been outlined. These are touch, open wide, and speak.
‘Touch’ encourages people to check for lumps on the neck, lips, or in their mouth. The ‘open wide’ part of the campaign aims for people to look for ulcers or red/red‑and‑white patches in your mouth or on your tongue. And ‘speak’ prompts people to listen for hoarseness in their voice.
People are being urged to look for ulcers or red/red‑and‑white patches in their mouth(Image: Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance)
People with these symptoms for three weeks or more are being urged to seek advice from their GP surgery. The campaign is targeting those most at risk from head and neck cancer. This includes men aged 40 and over who smoke and/or drink heavily.
Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance shared further details about the campaign, it said: “Initially, the campaign is focused on Birkenhead and Kirkby, which have some of the highest levels of head and neck cancer in the region.
“Whilst the campaign is focused primarily on men – as more than two in three people who get head and neck cancer are male, it is important that everyone stays vigilant to these symptoms and finds time to check themselves regularly.”
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, about 12,200 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK every year. This includes cancer of the larynx (voicebox). In the UK, head and neck cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men.
Head and neck cancers are named after where they start, which is the area of the head or neck, and the type of cell. The most common type of head and neck cancer is squamous cell carcinoma.
About nine out of ten head and neck cancers (90%) start in squamous cells. Squamous cells line the surfaces inside the head and neck, such as the mouth, nose and throat.
The most common place for head and neck cancer to spread to is the lymph nodes in the neck. This may cause a swollen lymph node in the neck. Lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system which helps protect us from infection and disease.