nasopharyngeal cancer

Hello Slogger 13,

Thank you for getting in touch with us this evening, and welcome to our online community.  My name is Lisa, and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.  

I see that you are new to the online community.  I hope that you find it a helpful and supportive place.

I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer and that you don’t know what to think or expect.  It’s understandable that you may feel many emotions now and that some advice would be helpful to you.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is sometimes called nasopharyngeal carcinoma or cancer of the post-nasal space and is a type of head and neck cancer that develops in the nasopharynx, which is the upper part of the throat (pharynx) at the back of the nose (or nasal cavity).

You most likely had other tests or investigations to find out more about the cancer, such as the stage and grade. Following this, there is then usually a multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT) where a team of healthcare professionals work together to plan the treatment that is best for you.  Sometimes further tests, such as the PET scan, are arranged by your consultant to help gain more detailed information about the cancer, which helps to plan your treatment.  Once you have the scan, the images will be looked at by a specialist doctor, who will write a report and send the results to your consultant.  An appointment should then be arranged to discuss the results, which could take a couple of weeks.

You’ve been told that you’ll need radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat the cancer.  Radiotherapy is usually the main treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer.  It uses high-energy rays to destroy the cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells.  You may have side effects during and even for a few weeks after radiotherapy, but these usually get better slowly once treatment finishes.

Chemotherapy, which you’ve been told you will also need, uses special anti-cancer drugs to destroy the cancer cells.  It is usually given along with radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer.  Chemotherapy drugs cause different side effects depending on the type of drugs used, but these side effects can usually be well controlled with medicines, and most side effects go away once treatment has finished.  Your consultant or clinical nurse specialist (CNS) will tell you about the most likely side effects and how they can be controlled or managed. Sometimes chemotherapy and radiotherapy are given together.  This is called chemoradiation. 

Oftentimes it can help to speak to other people who have had, or are going through, a similar experience.  We have a head and neck cancer forum on our online community, which is a support group for people with head and neck cancers and their loved ones to share experiences and support.

The Swallows Head & Neck Cancer Charity can also offer additional information and support, and they hold several monthly face-to-face support groups across the UK, along with a monthly virtual meeting.   

I hope this helps.  However, we often find that we can help more by exploring these questions over the phone.  You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts.  Phone free on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8am to 8pm) or send us an email.

Take care and best wishes,

Lisa R

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

LzM/LiR