Is the treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma painful? How to take care of it?

Radiotherapy is a good method for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer, but we should still pay attention to some other small details during treatment. So, is the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer in the late stage painful? How to take care of it?

The treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma is painful, but we cannot give up treatment. You can try the following specific methods:

1. Radiation therapy

Radiotherapy is recognized as the first choice of treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In 1979, the National Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Conference proposed that stage I nasopharyngeal carcinoma should be treated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma can be divided into radical radiotherapy and palliative radiotherapy. Radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma kills tumor cells, but normal tissues or parts are inevitably irradiated and produce radiation reactions. The radiation reaction is closely related to the dose, irradiation range, number of irradiation courses, and the tolerance of normal tissues or parts.

2. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is also a common treatment for mid- to late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and is often used in conjunction with other treatments. Studies have found that more than 95% of nasopharyngeal carcinomas are poorly differentiated and undifferentiated, with high malignancy, rapid growth, and a high risk of lymph node or blood metastasis. When nasopharyngeal carcinoma is diagnosed, 75% of patients are already in stage III and IV. The later the disease, the greater the chance of distant metastasis and the worse the prognosis.

As for the nursing issues of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, we should also pay attention to the fact that nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients often suffer from the destruction of oral secretory glands due to radiotherapy, which leads to dry mouth and tongue caused by reduced saliva. Also, because nasopharyngeal carcinoma is located in the upper part behind the posterior nasal aperture, the tumor often blocks the nostrils, causing mouth breathing, rapid loss of oral moisture, and dry mouth and chapped lips. We should pay attention to providing patients with enough drinking water, or giving them black plums, American ginseng, and vitamin C tablets to quench thirst and promote fluid production. Dry lips can be moistened with oil or saline-wet gauze. Acupuncture of Chengjiang, Lianquan, Hegu, Yuji and other acupoints can alleviate dry mouth symptoms. We should keep the room clean, quit smoking and drinking, avoid eating too cold, too hot, too hard, or too spicy food, and pay attention to oral hygiene.