Laryngeal Cancer

What Is Laryngeal Cancer?

Your larynx has vocal folds inside it. When you talk, air from your lungs passes through these vocal folds, making them vibrate to create sound. Laryngeal cancer can form on these vocal folds or other parts of your larynx.

What Are Signs of Laryngeal Cancer?

Some signs of laryngeal cancer may be:

• hoarseness or voice changes
• problems swallowing
• feeling like you have a lump in your throat or neck
• a bad cough or chest infection
• sore throat or cough that won’t go away
• shortness of breath
• unexplained weight loss
• ear pain that lasts a long time

What Are the Risks for Laryngeal Cancer?

Risk factors for laryngeal cancer include:

• smoking or using chewing tobacco
• drinking alcohol
• poor nutrition
• acid reflux (GERD)
• a weakened immune system
• contact with human papillomavirus (HPV)
• contact with chemicals and other toxins, such as paint fumes or soot

What Does Testing for Laryngeal Cancer Look Like?

Talk to your doctor if you notice any of the problems listed above. Your doctor may:

• look at your throat
• send you for scans
• get a small sample of larynx tissue, called a biopsy, to test to see if it is cancerous

What Are Treatments for Laryngeal Cancer?

Your treatment depends on the type of cancer you have, where it is located, and how much it has spread. You may need:

• surgery
• radiation
• chemotherapy
• targeted drug therapy
• immunotherapy

Radiation and chemotherapy can cause changes such as:

• hoarse voice
• sore throat
• dry mouth
• mouth sores
• trouble swallowing
• problems breathing

Some of these side effects go away after treatment is over.

Doctors use different types of surgeries to treat laryngeal cancer. Not all of them involve removing your larynx.

If you do need surgery to remove your larynx (called a laryngectomy), your surgeon will create a breathing hole in your neck, called a stoma. You'll breathe through this opening instead of your nose and mouth.

Learning to communicate in new ways after this surgery can be challenging. Your health care team, including SLPs, will support you through this journey and help you adjust to these changes.

Speech and Swallowing Treatment

SLPs play an important role before, during, and after cancer treatment to help with any speech or swallowing problems you may have. You and your SLP might work with your doctor to discuss different ways to make your voice and/or swallow stronger.

Communication After Laryngectomy

The SLP will talk to you about your larynx and how surgery will change it. You will learn more about what will happen after surgery and what communication options you have. You and your family can discuss your options and treatment plan with the SLP.

Right after surgery, you will not be able to talk. The SLP can offer ways to help you tell others what you need, including:

• paper and pen
• a dry-erase board
• a picture board
• technology such as phones or tablets to type messages or to generate electronic speech

As you heal, the SLP will work with you to find a new way to communicate. There are three main options:

Artificial Larynx/Electrolarynx

• This small electronic device creates vibrations to help you speak. You place it against your neck or put a small tube in your mouth. Many people start with this method because it's easy to learn. Your SLP will practice with you until you feel comfortable using it to speak clearly.

Tracheoesophageal Puncture

• Your doctor can create a small hole between your breathing tube and esophagus, either during your cancer surgery or later. There is a one-way valve in this hole. When you want to speak, you cover your neck opening using your finger or a special "hands-free" cover. Covering the opening directs air from your lungs through the valve and into your esophagus, creating vibrations that help you form words. Your SLP will fit this valve for you and show you exactly how to use and care for it.

Esophageal Speech

• This way of speaking uses air in a new way. You take air into your mouth and trap it in your esophagus (the tube that connects your throat to your stomach). Then you push the air back up—similar to a controlled burp. You use that air to form words.
• As the air comes out, it makes the top of your esophagus vibrate to create sound. Learning this method takes practice and works better for some people than others..

To find an SLP near you, visit ProFind.

Resources

Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement.

• American Cancer Society
• International Association of Laryngectomees
• National Cancer Institute
• WebWhispers