Head, neck cancers increase

Apr 14, 2002

Mulago Hospital records between 70 and 80 new cases of head and neck cancers annually and this is just a tip of the iceberg, doctors said last week.

By Vision reporterMulago Hospital records between 70 and 80 new cases of head and neck cancers annually and this is just a tip of the iceberg, doctors said last week.The head of the hospital’s Ear, Nose and Throat department, Dr. Gregory Tumuheirwe, said cancers of the head and neck are the second most common in Uganda, after cancer of the cervix.Tumuheirwe was speaking to The New Vision in Kampala, where surgeons from several African countries were undergoing training on cancers of the head and neck with the support of the University of Marburg, Germany.He said that whereas most of the cases could be successfully treated in Mulago if the patients reported early, the majority go to hospital only when the cancer has become severe.Prof. Jochen Werner from the University of Marburg, Germany, said, “World-wide cancers of the head and neck make only 5% of cancers, but here it is more, so it is a very important cancer.”Werner said people should seek treatment early while the cancer is still manageable. The early stages might not hurt, but signs like long-term nose bleeding, blockage in the nose, difficult breathing, persistent hoarseness of the throat and non-healing wounds or swellings in the head and neck region should raise suspicion.Mulago and Lacor are the only hospitals in Uganda that have the facilities for the treatment of these cancers. “We are fairly well prepared for these cancers, but we need to duplicate these efforts in regional hospitals so that people don’t have to come all the way to Kampala,” said Dr. Gideon Kikampikaho.Werner said the University of Marburg would also collaborate with African counterparts to carry out more research on the cancer situation.ends

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