A Simple Guide to Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes the Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Nasopharyngeal Cancer is one of the deadly cancer because of the difficulty in diagnosis and because it is close to the brain.

My father in law has NPC in the 1970.
Treatment was concentrated on radiotherapy at the site of the cancer.
Unlike the present gamma-ray knife treatment which can pin point the exact site of the cancer, in the past the old deep X-ray treatment could only target the area of the cancer.

The side effects of burns to the skin and clotting of arteries to the brain caused a lot of discomfort to the patient.
There is loss of smell and taste with loss of appetite.
He eventually developed a stroke from the illness or treatment and was incapacitated for 1 year before finally succumbing to the illness

At the time of my assignment to the ENT Department, there was a woman patient in the ward who was in the advanced stage of nasopharyngeal cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.
She was a teacher of 32 years of age who was mostly sick during the time there

She was emaciated with vomiting during her chemotherapy and loss of appetite.
She was always in pain because the cancer has spread to the brain
We had to give painkillers and anti-vomiting injections often in order to relieve her symptoms.
Because of the injections, she was also in a sleepy state most of the time.
She has quite a few visitors including her family and her students, most of who were dejected at the state of her condition.
One morning her bed was cleared and we know that she has succumbed to her illness in the night.

It is important to be aware of the disease and early detection for treatment to be effective.

Nasopharyngeal cancer, often referred to as NPC, happens when the cells lining the nasopharynx (area behind the nose and above the back of the throat) become abnormal and proliferate giving rise to cancer cells.

Several factors increase the risk of NPC:
Genetic predisposition
Patients with a family history of NPC, especially in first degree relatives, have an increased risk of developing NPC
Males between the ages of 20-50 from southern China and Southeast Asia are at higher risk.

Diet:
Diet such as preserved foods (salted fish, vegetables and meat) which are taken by Southern Chinese can cause a higher risk of NPC.
Cooking of such food releases toxic substances called nitrosamines into the fumes that are breathed.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection
There is evidence that NPC patients have higher levels of the Epstein-Barr virus in their blood.

The symptoms of NPC are:
A painless lump in the neck-normally a lymph node infiltrated by cancer cells
Nose bleed or blood stained sputum
Blocking of one or both nostrils
Loss of hearing or ringing in the ear

Without a nasoendoscope, it may be hard to visualize the primary tumor in the nasopharynx, especially if the tumor is small

If a tumor is detected, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be utilized to assess its size.

Patients may also be tested for the evidence of the Epstein-Barr virus

The main and most common treatment for NPC is radiotherapy

Present evidence indicates that the addition of chemotherapy to radiation provides a considerable survival benefit for patients with stage III and IVA NPC, and some patients with stage II NPC.

Surgery is normally reserved for cases where the cancer recurs after the early treatment

The prognosis has improved with new treatment methods

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Nasophayngeal Cancer
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Facial Palsy
Chapter 8 Lymphadenopathy
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Feb 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215555002

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Nasopharyngeal Cancer,

Diagnosis,

Treatment,

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2023 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

to my wife Dorothy

and my children

Carolyn, Grace

and Kelvin

This book describes the Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Nasopharyngeal Cancer)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Nasopharyngeal Cancer is one of the deadly cancer because of the difficulty in diagnosis and because it is close to the brain.

My father in law has NPC in the 1970.

Treatment was concentrated on radiotherapy at the site of the cancer.

Unlike the present gamma-ray knife treatment which can pin point the exact site of the cancer, in the past the old deep X-ray treatment could only target the area of the cancer.

The side effects of burns to the skin and clotting of arteries to the brain caused a lot of discomfort to the patient.

There is loss of smell and taste with loss of appetite.

He eventually developed a stroke from the illness or treatment and was incapacitated for 1 year before finally succumbing to the illness

At the time of my assignment to the ENT Department, there was a woman patient in the ward who was in the advanced stage of nasopharyngeal cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.

She was a teacher of 32 years of age who was mostly sick during the time there

She was emaciated with vomiting during her chemotherapy and loss of appetite.

She was always in pain because the cancer has spread to the brain

We had to give painkillers and anti-vomiting injections often in order to relieve her symptoms.

Because of the injections, she was also in a sleepy state most of the time.

She has quite a few visitors including her family and her students, most of who were dejected at the state of her condition.

One morning her bed was cleared and we know that she has succumbed to her illness in the night.

It is important to be aware of the disease and early detection for treatment to be effective.

What is Nasopharyngeal Cancer?

Nasopharyngeal cancer, often referred to as NPC, happens when the cells lining the nasopharynx (area behind the nose and above the back of the throat) become abnormal and proliferate giving rise to cancer cells.

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), also called nose cancer, is a disease of particular interest due to its high incidence and tendency to afflict people who are still in the economically active age.

NPC arises from the epithelium of the nasopharynx (also known as posterior nasal space).

This small cuboidal space is located behind the nasal cavity and above the oropharynx.

It has connections to the middle ear via the Eustachian tubes on both sides of the lateral walls.