When cells in your body grow out of control, cancer results. And it can spread to other parts of your body. Premier Health providers offer advice on how to lower your risk of developing cancer, how to recognize cancer signs, and how cancer is diagnosed
to help catch it early and raise the chance of successful treatment.
Kilmer reprises the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which he played in the original “Top Gun,” released in 1986.
In the new edition, Kilmer appears in a scene with Tom Cruise. The Los Angeles Times calls their brief exchange the movie’s “most powerful moment.”
And Sameep Kadakia, MD, director of Premier Health’s Comprehensive Head and Neck Cancer and Reconstruction Program, tells Premier Health Now that Kilmer, returning to the big screen with his voice impaired by cancer, makes a powerful statement for cancer patients and their families.
“Anytime a patient is afflicted with head and neck cancer, throat cancer in this case, it can cause a number of impediments in your quality of life and even your functionality. But I think when you see people like Val Kilmer getting back to his career and his passion, it can give hope,” Dr. Kadakia says.
“Maybe you’re not going to get back everything you lost because of your cancer, but you can get back many of the aspects of your quality of life.”
Throat Cancer Treatment
Since the original “Top Gun,” he adds, head and neck cancer treatment “has made such progress, very nicely, with a true focus on restoring quality of life, not just quantity of life.”
Dr. Kadakia explains that “throat cancer,” the term used in news reports to describe Kilmer’s disease, covers a wide range of cancers affecting various parts of the mouth and throat. For instance, the tongue, the larynx (voice box), and the pharynx (the back of the mouth where food passes into the esophagus).
Medical and surgical subspecialists partner in treating throat cancer patients, depending on their needs.
“Speech and swallow therapists have become a crucial part of the team,” Dr. Kadakia adds. They often teach patients voicing techniques, following surgery, to help them improve voice quality.
Some patients lose their voice to radiation treatment or having their voice box removed. In his treatment, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tracheostomy surgery. He’s now reported cancer-free.
A variety of technologies are available to help patients communicate if they lose their voice. “It’s not a case where every patient may have a fantastic voice outcome, because of the kind of cancer and the kind of treatment that’s been performed,” Dr. Kadakia explains.
In his scene, Kilmer uses a device to type out his conversation with Cruise’s character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He also delivers an audible line using artificial intelligence-based technology that cloned his voice, based on recordings before his cancer treatment.
Surgeons can implant prosthetic devices that allow patients to speak. “Maybe not the same kind of voice they were able to generate prior to having treatment, but they’re able to make sounds that are translated into voice,” Dr. Kadakia says. “A lot of the calibration and the teaching in terms of how to optimally use the device is done by the speech therapist.”
Another option, he adds, is an electrolarynx, a handheld device that picks up vibrations, decoding them into an electronic voice. Some patients, he says, elect to use electronic writing and drawing tablets to communicate if they are not comfortable using new voicing methodology or prefer to use a non-vocal communication style.
Risk Factors And Symptoms Of Throat Cancers
Not everyone who gets head and neck cancers smokes or drinks alcohol. But these activities are the leading contributing risk factors, Dr. Kadakia says. Coming in third, he adds, is “the synergistic effect” of using tobacco and alcohol in combination.
HPV, the same virus associated with cervical cancer, is another leading risk factor, particularly in cancers in the oral pharynx, “the back of the mouth,” he says.
“The rates of HPV cancers are increasing, while the rates of smoking- and alcohol-related cancers are decreasing, in regard to that particular area (the back of the mouth).”
Dr. Kadakia talks about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis of head and neck cancers.
Examples of head and neck cancer include: tongue cancer, jaw cancer, cancer of the voice box, cancer of the sinuses. Really any part of the head and neck can be a potential site for a cancer.
Cause is not necessarily the best word to use for really any kind of cancer. We typically like to characterize them by risk factors. The reason is that if someone does action A, it does not always lead to cancer. If someone does not do action A it does not mean they will not get cancer. But typically for head and neck cancers the major risk factors that we discuss are tobacco, alcohol and the synergetic effect of tobacco and alcohol. Whether it be chewing tobacco, smoking, chronic alcoholism. One of the things we always recommend to our patients is to stop doing these things. We know nowadays that smoking and tobacco usage is a very, very large risk factor for not just head and neck cancer but lung cancer as well. The same has been shown for alcohol as well. Nowadays also, we've also found with certain cancers of the head and neck, the human papilloma virus as well can be a risk factor.
Anytime that you begin developing a symptom or some kind of finding that wasn't quite there before, I always tell people to have a very low threshold to go see your physician. Depending on the part of your head or neck that's involved by the cancer, the symptoms could be entirely different. For many people they may develop some lumps and bumps in the neck, enlarged lymph nodes for example. For some people they may develop sores on the tongue if maybe they have an early tongue cancer, or a sore inside the mouth that just quite won't go away. For some folks that have voice box cancers, they may notice that swallowing is a little bit different. Their voice is hoarse and it's more than just a common cold.
As with any cancer, if the cancers are caught at earlier stages and we can intervene quicker, then patients will do better in the survival and the outcomes will be much greater. Typically like any other cancer, I think the earlier you recognize, the earlier you move forward with treatment, patients will do better. Now, as far as prognosis goes, my personal philosophy is not to give hard numbers for prognosis. The reason is, I think again there are lots of studies out there, there are lots of graphs and charts and statistics you can read, but for an individual patient, you are one. You are not 600 people you are not 1,000 people. The reason I mention that is because whenever you look at these studies with different curves that say so and so cancer has a X % chance of survival, to a single patient that doesn't mean anything.
Well they're finding that the HPV virus is being linked to certain cancer. In the head and neck the one subside that it is strongly linked to is what we call the oral pharynx. The back of your tongue, the tonsils, and again the exact reason, they don't know. But what's being found, and again similar to why women get pap smears to screen for cervical cancer is that the HPV virus can cause certain changes in that particular area which can lead to cancers. The good news is though that if a cancer in the back of the mouth is associated with HPV, typically the prognosis is more favorable than someone who has a HPV negative cancer.
The best way to screen for head and neck cancer is to have regular visits with your primary care doctor and your dentist. The reason I say these two is because dentists are often times the first line professionals that will find different growths and different abnormalities in a persons mouth. Being that the mouth is one of the most common locations of head and neck cancer, dentists are fantastic people because they will find them and at the end of the day a lot of the guidelines say that we should be seeing dentists for routine screenings and cleanings at least once or twice a year.
Again, seeing your primary care doctor is of upmost importance because they will be checking your general health, and if anything is abnormal they're the ones that can then say okay, maybe you need to have this test or maybe you need to see this person. Typically as a cancer surgeon a patient isn't' coming to me regularly until they either have a diagnosis or until they have a finding that's concerning enough that it needs to be intervened on.
A significant amount of it is up to chance just because it's very hard to predict who will get a second cancer, if they will get a second cancer. Like the initial question that we discussed, it's all about modifying the risk factors. If you have a cancer, then again it's always prudent to stop smoking, to stop alcohol use, those kinds of things. Again, those risk factors that predispose you to maybe having the first cancer are also the same risk factors that could predispose you to having a second cancer.
In addition to quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol use, getting regular checkups with your doctor and dentist can reduce your risk of head and neck cancers. “Many times, dentists will catch growths in the mouth and the back of the mouth,” Dr. Kadakia says.
Signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers can include:
Mouth or throat pain
Trouble swallowing
Voice changes or hoarseness that worsens and lingers
Persistent cough
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained fever
Lumps or swelling on the neck
An ulcer or irritation in the mouth that does not heal
Find Your Perfect Match
Answer a few questions and we'll provide you with a list of primary care providers that best fit your needs.
Kilmer reprises the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which he played in the original “Top Gun,” released in 1986.
In the new edition, Kilmer appears in a scene with Tom Cruise. The Los Angeles Times calls their brief exchange the movie’s “most powerful moment.”
And Sameep Kadakia, MD, director of Premier Health’s Comprehensive Head and Neck Cancer and Reconstruction Program, tells Premier Health Now that Kilmer, returning to the big screen with his voice impaired by cancer, makes a powerful statement for cancer patients and their families.
“Anytime a patient is afflicted with head and neck cancer, throat cancer in this case, it can cause a number of impediments in your quality of life and even your functionality. But I think when you see people like Val Kilmer getting back to his career and his passion, it can give hope,” Dr. Kadakia says.
“Maybe you’re not going to get back everything you lost because of your cancer, but you can get back many of the aspects of your quality of life.”
Throat Cancer Treatment
Since the original “Top Gun,” he adds, head and neck cancer treatment “has made such progress, very nicely, with a true focus on restoring quality of life, not just quantity of life.”
Dr. Kadakia explains that “throat cancer,” the term used in news reports to describe Kilmer’s disease, covers a wide range of cancers affecting various parts of the mouth and throat. For instance, the tongue, the larynx (voice box), and the pharynx (the back of the mouth where food passes into the esophagus).
Medical and surgical subspecialists partner in treating throat cancer patients, depending on their needs.
“Speech and swallow therapists have become a crucial part of the team,” Dr. Kadakia adds. They often teach patients voicing techniques, following surgery, to help them improve voice quality.
Some patients lose their voice to radiation treatment or having their voice box removed. In his treatment, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tracheostomy surgery. He’s now reported cancer-free.
A variety of technologies are available to help patients communicate if they lose their voice. “It’s not a case where every patient may have a fantastic voice outcome, because of the kind of cancer and the kind of treatment that’s been performed,” Dr. Kadakia explains.
In his scene, Kilmer uses a device to type out his conversation with Cruise’s character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He also delivers an audible line using artificial intelligence-based technology that cloned his voice, based on recordings before his cancer treatment.
Surgeons can implant prosthetic devices that allow patients to speak. “Maybe not the same kind of voice they were able to generate prior to having treatment, but they’re able to make sounds that are translated into voice,” Dr. Kadakia says. “A lot of the calibration and the teaching in terms of how to optimally use the device is done by the speech therapist.”
Another option, he adds, is an electrolarynx, a handheld device that picks up vibrations, decoding them into an electronic voice. Some patients, he says, elect to use electronic writing and drawing tablets to communicate if they are not comfortable using new voicing methodology or prefer to use a non-vocal communication style.
Risk Factors And Symptoms Of Throat Cancers
Not everyone who gets head and neck cancers smokes or drinks alcohol. But these activities are the leading contributing risk factors, Dr. Kadakia says. Coming in third, he adds, is “the synergistic effect” of using tobacco and alcohol in combination.
HPV, the same virus associated with cervical cancer, is another leading risk factor, particularly in cancers in the oral pharynx, “the back of the mouth,” he says.
“The rates of HPV cancers are increasing, while the rates of smoking- and alcohol-related cancers are decreasing, in regard to that particular area (the back of the mouth).”
Dr. Kadakia talks about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis of head and neck cancers.
Examples of head and neck cancer include: tongue cancer, jaw cancer, cancer of the voice box, cancer of the sinuses. Really any part of the head and neck can be a potential site for a cancer.
Cause is not necessarily the best word to use for really any kind of cancer. We typically like to characterize them by risk factors. The reason is that if someone does action A, it does not always lead to cancer. If someone does not do action A it does not mean they will not get cancer. But typically for head and neck cancers the major risk factors that we discuss are tobacco, alcohol and the synergetic effect of tobacco and alcohol. Whether it be chewing tobacco, smoking, chronic alcoholism. One of the things we always recommend to our patients is to stop doing these things. We know nowadays that smoking and tobacco usage is a very, very large risk factor for not just head and neck cancer but lung cancer as well. The same has been shown for alcohol as well. Nowadays also, we've also found with certain cancers of the head and neck, the human papilloma virus as well can be a risk factor.
Anytime that you begin developing a symptom or some kind of finding that wasn't quite there before, I always tell people to have a very low threshold to go see your physician. Depending on the part of your head or neck that's involved by the cancer, the symptoms could be entirely different. For many people they may develop some lumps and bumps in the neck, enlarged lymph nodes for example. For some people they may develop sores on the tongue if maybe they have an early tongue cancer, or a sore inside the mouth that just quite won't go away. For some folks that have voice box cancers, they may notice that swallowing is a little bit different. Their voice is hoarse and it's more than just a common cold.
As with any cancer, if the cancers are caught at earlier stages and we can intervene quicker, then patients will do better in the survival and the outcomes will be much greater. Typically like any other cancer, I think the earlier you recognize, the earlier you move forward with treatment, patients will do better. Now, as far as prognosis goes, my personal philosophy is not to give hard numbers for prognosis. The reason is, I think again there are lots of studies out there, there are lots of graphs and charts and statistics you can read, but for an individual patient, you are one. You are not 600 people you are not 1,000 people. The reason I mention that is because whenever you look at these studies with different curves that say so and so cancer has a X % chance of survival, to a single patient that doesn't mean anything.
Well they're finding that the HPV virus is being linked to certain cancer. In the head and neck the one subside that it is strongly linked to is what we call the oral pharynx. The back of your tongue, the tonsils, and again the exact reason, they don't know. But what's being found, and again similar to why women get pap smears to screen for cervical cancer is that the HPV virus can cause certain changes in that particular area which can lead to cancers. The good news is though that if a cancer in the back of the mouth is associated with HPV, typically the prognosis is more favorable than someone who has a HPV negative cancer.
The best way to screen for head and neck cancer is to have regular visits with your primary care doctor and your dentist. The reason I say these two is because dentists are often times the first line professionals that will find different growths and different abnormalities in a persons mouth. Being that the mouth is one of the most common locations of head and neck cancer, dentists are fantastic people because they will find them and at the end of the day a lot of the guidelines say that we should be seeing dentists for routine screenings and cleanings at least once or twice a year.
Again, seeing your primary care doctor is of upmost importance because they will be checking your general health, and if anything is abnormal they're the ones that can then say okay, maybe you need to have this test or maybe you need to see this person. Typically as a cancer surgeon a patient isn't' coming to me regularly until they either have a diagnosis or until they have a finding that's concerning enough that it needs to be intervened on.
A significant amount of it is up to chance just because it's very hard to predict who will get a second cancer, if they will get a second cancer. Like the initial question that we discussed, it's all about modifying the risk factors. If you have a cancer, then again it's always prudent to stop smoking, to stop alcohol use, those kinds of things. Again, those risk factors that predispose you to maybe having the first cancer are also the same risk factors that could predispose you to having a second cancer.
In addition to quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol use, getting regular checkups with your doctor and dentist can reduce your risk of head and neck cancers. “Many times, dentists will catch growths in the mouth and the back of the mouth,” Dr. Kadakia says.
Signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers can include:
Mouth or throat pain
Trouble swallowing
Voice changes or hoarseness that worsens and lingers
Persistent cough
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained fever
Lumps or swelling on the neck
An ulcer or irritation in the mouth that does not heal
Find Your Perfect Match
Answer a few questions and we'll provide you with a list of primary care providers that best fit your needs.
Kilmer reprises the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which he played in the original “Top Gun,” released in 1986.
In the new edition, Kilmer appears in a scene with Tom Cruise. The Los Angeles Times calls their brief exchange the movie’s “most powerful moment.”
And Sameep Kadakia, MD, director of Premier Health’s Comprehensive Head and Neck Cancer and Reconstruction Program, tells Premier Health Now that Kilmer, returning to the big screen with his voice impaired by cancer, makes a powerful statement for cancer patients and their families.
“Anytime a patient is afflicted with head and neck cancer, throat cancer in this case, it can cause a number of impediments in your quality of life and even your functionality. But I think when you see people like Val Kilmer getting back to his career and his passion, it can give hope,” Dr. Kadakia says.
“Maybe you’re not going to get back everything you lost because of your cancer, but you can get back many of the aspects of your quality of life.”
Throat Cancer Treatment
Since the original “Top Gun,” he adds, head and neck cancer treatment “has made such progress, very nicely, with a true focus on restoring quality of life, not just quantity of life.”
Dr. Kadakia explains that “throat cancer,” the term used in news reports to describe Kilmer’s disease, covers a wide range of cancers affecting various parts of the mouth and throat. For instance, the tongue, the larynx (voice box), and the pharynx (the back of the mouth where food passes into the esophagus).
Medical and surgical subspecialists partner in treating throat cancer patients, depending on their needs.
“Speech and swallow therapists have become a crucial part of the team,” Dr. Kadakia adds. They often teach patients voicing techniques, following surgery, to help them improve voice quality.
Some patients lose their voice to radiation treatment or having their voice box removed. In his treatment, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tracheostomy surgery. He’s now reported cancer-free.
A variety of technologies are available to help patients communicate if they lose their voice. “It’s not a case where every patient may have a fantastic voice outcome, because of the kind of cancer and the kind of treatment that’s been performed,” Dr. Kadakia explains.
In his scene, Kilmer uses a device to type out his conversation with Cruise’s character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He also delivers an audible line using artificial intelligence-based technology that cloned his voice, based on recordings before his cancer treatment.
Surgeons can implant prosthetic devices that allow patients to speak. “Maybe not the same kind of voice they were able to generate prior to having treatment, but they’re able to make sounds that are translated into voice,” Dr. Kadakia says. “A lot of the calibration and the teaching in terms of how to optimally use the device is done by the speech therapist.”
Another option, he adds, is an electrolarynx, a handheld device that picks up vibrations, decoding them into an electronic voice. Some patients, he says, elect to use electronic writing and drawing tablets to communicate if they are not comfortable using new voicing methodology or prefer to use a non-vocal communication style.
Risk Factors And Symptoms Of Throat Cancers
Not everyone who gets head and neck cancers smokes or drinks alcohol. But these activities are the leading contributing risk factors, Dr. Kadakia says. Coming in third, he adds, is “the synergistic effect” of using tobacco and alcohol in combination.
HPV, the same virus associated with cervical cancer, is another leading risk factor, particularly in cancers in the oral pharynx, “the back of the mouth,” he says.
“The rates of HPV cancers are increasing, while the rates of smoking- and alcohol-related cancers are decreasing, in regard to that particular area (the back of the mouth).”
Dr. Kadakia talks about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis of head and neck cancers.
Examples of head and neck cancer include: tongue cancer, jaw cancer, cancer of the voice box, cancer of the sinuses. Really any part of the head and neck can be a potential site for a cancer.
Cause is not necessarily the best word to use for really any kind of cancer. We typically like to characterize them by risk factors. The reason is that if someone does action A, it does not always lead to cancer. If someone does not do action A it does not mean they will not get cancer. But typically for head and neck cancers the major risk factors that we discuss are tobacco, alcohol and the synergetic effect of tobacco and alcohol. Whether it be chewing tobacco, smoking, chronic alcoholism. One of the things we always recommend to our patients is to stop doing these things. We know nowadays that smoking and tobacco usage is a very, very large risk factor for not just head and neck cancer but lung cancer as well. The same has been shown for alcohol as well. Nowadays also, we've also found with certain cancers of the head and neck, the human papilloma virus as well can be a risk factor.
Anytime that you begin developing a symptom or some kind of finding that wasn't quite there before, I always tell people to have a very low threshold to go see your physician. Depending on the part of your head or neck that's involved by the cancer, the symptoms could be entirely different. For many people they may develop some lumps and bumps in the neck, enlarged lymph nodes for example. For some people they may develop sores on the tongue if maybe they have an early tongue cancer, or a sore inside the mouth that just quite won't go away. For some folks that have voice box cancers, they may notice that swallowing is a little bit different. Their voice is hoarse and it's more than just a common cold.
As with any cancer, if the cancers are caught at earlier stages and we can intervene quicker, then patients will do better in the survival and the outcomes will be much greater. Typically like any other cancer, I think the earlier you recognize, the earlier you move forward with treatment, patients will do better. Now, as far as prognosis goes, my personal philosophy is not to give hard numbers for prognosis. The reason is, I think again there are lots of studies out there, there are lots of graphs and charts and statistics you can read, but for an individual patient, you are one. You are not 600 people you are not 1,000 people. The reason I mention that is because whenever you look at these studies with different curves that say so and so cancer has a X % chance of survival, to a single patient that doesn't mean anything.
Well they're finding that the HPV virus is being linked to certain cancer. In the head and neck the one subside that it is strongly linked to is what we call the oral pharynx. The back of your tongue, the tonsils, and again the exact reason, they don't know. But what's being found, and again similar to why women get pap smears to screen for cervical cancer is that the HPV virus can cause certain changes in that particular area which can lead to cancers. The good news is though that if a cancer in the back of the mouth is associated with HPV, typically the prognosis is more favorable than someone who has a HPV negative cancer.
The best way to screen for head and neck cancer is to have regular visits with your primary care doctor and your dentist. The reason I say these two is because dentists are often times the first line professionals that will find different growths and different abnormalities in a persons mouth. Being that the mouth is one of the most common locations of head and neck cancer, dentists are fantastic people because they will find them and at the end of the day a lot of the guidelines say that we should be seeing dentists for routine screenings and cleanings at least once or twice a year.
Again, seeing your primary care doctor is of upmost importance because they will be checking your general health, and if anything is abnormal they're the ones that can then say okay, maybe you need to have this test or maybe you need to see this person. Typically as a cancer surgeon a patient isn't' coming to me regularly until they either have a diagnosis or until they have a finding that's concerning enough that it needs to be intervened on.
A significant amount of it is up to chance just because it's very hard to predict who will get a second cancer, if they will get a second cancer. Like the initial question that we discussed, it's all about modifying the risk factors. If you have a cancer, then again it's always prudent to stop smoking, to stop alcohol use, those kinds of things. Again, those risk factors that predispose you to maybe having the first cancer are also the same risk factors that could predispose you to having a second cancer.
In addition to quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol use, getting regular checkups with your doctor and dentist can reduce your risk of head and neck cancers. “Many times, dentists will catch growths in the mouth and the back of the mouth,” Dr. Kadakia says.
Signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers can include:
Mouth or throat pain
Trouble swallowing
Voice changes or hoarseness that worsens and lingers
Persistent cough
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained fever
Lumps or swelling on the neck
An ulcer or irritation in the mouth that does not heal
Find Your Perfect Match
Answer a few questions and we'll provide you with a list of primary care providers that best fit your needs.
Kilmer reprises the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which he played in the original “Top Gun,” released in 1986.
In the new edition, Kilmer appears in a scene with Tom Cruise. The Los Angeles Times calls their brief exchange the movie’s “most powerful moment.”
And Sameep Kadakia, MD, director of Premier Health’s Comprehensive Head and Neck Cancer and Reconstruction Program, tells Premier Health Now that Kilmer, returning to the big screen with his voice impaired by cancer, makes a powerful statement for cancer patients and their families.
“Anytime a patient is afflicted with head and neck cancer, throat cancer in this case, it can cause a number of impediments in your quality of life and even your functionality. But I think when you see people like Val Kilmer getting back to his career and his passion, it can give hope,” Dr. Kadakia says.
“Maybe you’re not going to get back everything you lost because of your cancer, but you can get back many of the aspects of your quality of life.”
Throat Cancer Treatment
Since the original “Top Gun,” he adds, head and neck cancer treatment “has made such progress, very nicely, with a true focus on restoring quality of life, not just quantity of life.”
Dr. Kadakia explains that “throat cancer,” the term used in news reports to describe Kilmer’s disease, covers a wide range of cancers affecting various parts of the mouth and throat. For instance, the tongue, the larynx (voice box), and the pharynx (the back of the mouth where food passes into the esophagus).
Medical and surgical subspecialists partner in treating throat cancer patients, depending on their needs.
“Speech and swallow therapists have become a crucial part of the team,” Dr. Kadakia adds. They often teach patients voicing techniques, following surgery, to help them improve voice quality.
Some patients lose their voice to radiation treatment or having their voice box removed. In his treatment, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tracheostomy surgery. He’s now reported cancer-free.
A variety of technologies are available to help patients communicate if they lose their voice. “It’s not a case where every patient may have a fantastic voice outcome, because of the kind of cancer and the kind of treatment that’s been performed,” Dr. Kadakia explains.
In his scene, Kilmer uses a device to type out his conversation with Cruise’s character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He also delivers an audible line using artificial intelligence-based technology that cloned his voice, based on recordings before his cancer treatment.
Surgeons can implant prosthetic devices that allow patients to speak. “Maybe not the same kind of voice they were able to generate prior to having treatment, but they’re able to make sounds that are translated into voice,” Dr. Kadakia says. “A lot of the calibration and the teaching in terms of how to optimally use the device is done by the speech therapist.”
Another option, he adds, is an electrolarynx, a handheld device that picks up vibrations, decoding them into an electronic voice. Some patients, he says, elect to use electronic writing and drawing tablets to communicate if they are not comfortable using new voicing methodology or prefer to use a non-vocal communication style.
Risk Factors And Symptoms Of Throat Cancers
Not everyone who gets head and neck cancers smokes or drinks alcohol. But these activities are the leading contributing risk factors, Dr. Kadakia says. Coming in third, he adds, is “the synergistic effect” of using tobacco and alcohol in combination.
HPV, the same virus associated with cervical cancer, is another leading risk factor, particularly in cancers in the oral pharynx, “the back of the mouth,” he says.
“The rates of HPV cancers are increasing, while the rates of smoking- and alcohol-related cancers are decreasing, in regard to that particular area (the back of the mouth).”
Dr. Kadakia talks about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis of head and neck cancers.
Examples of head and neck cancer include: tongue cancer, jaw cancer, cancer of the voice box, cancer of the sinuses. Really any part of the head and neck can be a potential site for a cancer.
Cause is not necessarily the best word to use for really any kind of cancer. We typically like to characterize them by risk factors. The reason is that if someone does action A, it does not always lead to cancer. If someone does not do action A it does not mean they will not get cancer. But typically for head and neck cancers the major risk factors that we discuss are tobacco, alcohol and the synergetic effect of tobacco and alcohol. Whether it be chewing tobacco, smoking, chronic alcoholism. One of the things we always recommend to our patients is to stop doing these things. We know nowadays that smoking and tobacco usage is a very, very large risk factor for not just head and neck cancer but lung cancer as well. The same has been shown for alcohol as well. Nowadays also, we've also found with certain cancers of the head and neck, the human papilloma virus as well can be a risk factor.
Anytime that you begin developing a symptom or some kind of finding that wasn't quite there before, I always tell people to have a very low threshold to go see your physician. Depending on the part of your head or neck that's involved by the cancer, the symptoms could be entirely different. For many people they may develop some lumps and bumps in the neck, enlarged lymph nodes for example. For some people they may develop sores on the tongue if maybe they have an early tongue cancer, or a sore inside the mouth that just quite won't go away. For some folks that have voice box cancers, they may notice that swallowing is a little bit different. Their voice is hoarse and it's more than just a common cold.
As with any cancer, if the cancers are caught at earlier stages and we can intervene quicker, then patients will do better in the survival and the outcomes will be much greater. Typically like any other cancer, I think the earlier you recognize, the earlier you move forward with treatment, patients will do better. Now, as far as prognosis goes, my personal philosophy is not to give hard numbers for prognosis. The reason is, I think again there are lots of studies out there, there are lots of graphs and charts and statistics you can read, but for an individual patient, you are one. You are not 600 people you are not 1,000 people. The reason I mention that is because whenever you look at these studies with different curves that say so and so cancer has a X % chance of survival, to a single patient that doesn't mean anything.
Well they're finding that the HPV virus is being linked to certain cancer. In the head and neck the one subside that it is strongly linked to is what we call the oral pharynx. The back of your tongue, the tonsils, and again the exact reason, they don't know. But what's being found, and again similar to why women get pap smears to screen for cervical cancer is that the HPV virus can cause certain changes in that particular area which can lead to cancers. The good news is though that if a cancer in the back of the mouth is associated with HPV, typically the prognosis is more favorable than someone who has a HPV negative cancer.
The best way to screen for head and neck cancer is to have regular visits with your primary care doctor and your dentist. The reason I say these two is because dentists are often times the first line professionals that will find different growths and different abnormalities in a persons mouth. Being that the mouth is one of the most common locations of head and neck cancer, dentists are fantastic people because they will find them and at the end of the day a lot of the guidelines say that we should be seeing dentists for routine screenings and cleanings at least once or twice a year.
Again, seeing your primary care doctor is of upmost importance because they will be checking your general health, and if anything is abnormal they're the ones that can then say okay, maybe you need to have this test or maybe you need to see this person. Typically as a cancer surgeon a patient isn't' coming to me regularly until they either have a diagnosis or until they have a finding that's concerning enough that it needs to be intervened on.
A significant amount of it is up to chance just because it's very hard to predict who will get a second cancer, if they will get a second cancer. Like the initial question that we discussed, it's all about modifying the risk factors. If you have a cancer, then again it's always prudent to stop smoking, to stop alcohol use, those kinds of things. Again, those risk factors that predispose you to maybe having the first cancer are also the same risk factors that could predispose you to having a second cancer.
In addition to quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol use, getting regular checkups with your doctor and dentist can reduce your risk of head and neck cancers. “Many times, dentists will catch growths in the mouth and the back of the mouth,” Dr. Kadakia says.
Signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers can include:
Mouth or throat pain
Trouble swallowing
Voice changes or hoarseness that worsens and lingers
Persistent cough
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained fever
Lumps or swelling on the neck
An ulcer or irritation in the mouth that does not heal
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Kilmer reprises the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which he played in the original “Top Gun,” released in 1986.
In the new edition, Kilmer appears in a scene with Tom Cruise. The Los Angeles Times calls their brief exchange the movie’s “most powerful moment.”
And Sameep Kadakia, MD, director of Premier Health’s Comprehensive Head and Neck Cancer and Reconstruction Program, tells Premier Health Now that Kilmer, returning to the big screen with his voice impaired by cancer, makes a powerful statement for cancer patients and their families.
“Anytime a patient is afflicted with head and neck cancer, throat cancer in this case, it can cause a number of impediments in your quality of life and even your functionality. But I think when you see people like Val Kilmer getting back to his career and his passion, it can give hope,” Dr. Kadakia says.
“Maybe you’re not going to get back everything you lost because of your cancer, but you can get back many of the aspects of your quality of life.”
Throat Cancer Treatment
Since the original “Top Gun,” he adds, head and neck cancer treatment “has made such progress, very nicely, with a true focus on restoring quality of life, not just quantity of life.”
Dr. Kadakia explains that “throat cancer,” the term used in news reports to describe Kilmer’s disease, covers a wide range of cancers affecting various parts of the mouth and throat. For instance, the tongue, the larynx (voice box), and the pharynx (the back of the mouth where food passes into the esophagus).
Medical and surgical subspecialists partner in treating throat cancer patients, depending on their needs.
“Speech and swallow therapists have become a crucial part of the team,” Dr. Kadakia adds. They often teach patients voicing techniques, following surgery, to help them improve voice quality.
Some patients lose their voice to radiation treatment or having their voice box removed. In his treatment, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tracheostomy surgery. He’s now reported cancer-free.
A variety of technologies are available to help patients communicate if they lose their voice. “It’s not a case where every patient may have a fantastic voice outcome, because of the kind of cancer and the kind of treatment that’s been performed,” Dr. Kadakia explains.
In his scene, Kilmer uses a device to type out his conversation with Cruise’s character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He also delivers an audible line using artificial intelligence-based technology that cloned his voice, based on recordings before his cancer treatment.
Surgeons can implant prosthetic devices that allow patients to speak. “Maybe not the same kind of voice they were able to generate prior to having treatment, but they’re able to make sounds that are translated into voice,” Dr. Kadakia says. “A lot of the calibration and the teaching in terms of how to optimally use the device is done by the speech therapist.”
Another option, he adds, is an electrolarynx, a handheld device that picks up vibrations, decoding them into an electronic voice. Some patients, he says, elect to use electronic writing and drawing tablets to communicate if they are not comfortable using new voicing methodology or prefer to use a non-vocal communication style.
Risk Factors And Symptoms Of Throat Cancers
Not everyone who gets head and neck cancers smokes or drinks alcohol. But these activities are the leading contributing risk factors, Dr. Kadakia says. Coming in third, he adds, is “the synergistic effect” of using tobacco and alcohol in combination.
HPV, the same virus associated with cervical cancer, is another leading risk factor, particularly in cancers in the oral pharynx, “the back of the mouth,” he says.
“The rates of HPV cancers are increasing, while the rates of smoking- and alcohol-related cancers are decreasing, in regard to that particular area (the back of the mouth).”
Dr. Kadakia talks about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis of head and neck cancers.
Examples of head and neck cancer include: tongue cancer, jaw cancer, cancer of the voice box, cancer of the sinuses. Really any part of the head and neck can be a potential site for a cancer.
Cause is not necessarily the best word to use for really any kind of cancer. We typically like to characterize them by risk factors. The reason is that if someone does action A, it does not always lead to cancer. If someone does not do action A it does not mean they will not get cancer. But typically for head and neck cancers the major risk factors that we discuss are tobacco, alcohol and the synergetic effect of tobacco and alcohol. Whether it be chewing tobacco, smoking, chronic alcoholism. One of the things we always recommend to our patients is to stop doing these things. We know nowadays that smoking and tobacco usage is a very, very large risk factor for not just head and neck cancer but lung cancer as well. The same has been shown for alcohol as well. Nowadays also, we've also found with certain cancers of the head and neck, the human papilloma virus as well can be a risk factor.
Anytime that you begin developing a symptom or some kind of finding that wasn't quite there before, I always tell people to have a very low threshold to go see your physician. Depending on the part of your head or neck that's involved by the cancer, the symptoms could be entirely different. For many people they may develop some lumps and bumps in the neck, enlarged lymph nodes for example. For some people they may develop sores on the tongue if maybe they have an early tongue cancer, or a sore inside the mouth that just quite won't go away. For some folks that have voice box cancers, they may notice that swallowing is a little bit different. Their voice is hoarse and it's more than just a common cold.
As with any cancer, if the cancers are caught at earlier stages and we can intervene quicker, then patients will do better in the survival and the outcomes will be much greater. Typically like any other cancer, I think the earlier you recognize, the earlier you move forward with treatment, patients will do better. Now, as far as prognosis goes, my personal philosophy is not to give hard numbers for prognosis. The reason is, I think again there are lots of studies out there, there are lots of graphs and charts and statistics you can read, but for an individual patient, you are one. You are not 600 people you are not 1,000 people. The reason I mention that is because whenever you look at these studies with different curves that say so and so cancer has a X % chance of survival, to a single patient that doesn't mean anything.
Well they're finding that the HPV virus is being linked to certain cancer. In the head and neck the one subside that it is strongly linked to is what we call the oral pharynx. The back of your tongue, the tonsils, and again the exact reason, they don't know. But what's being found, and again similar to why women get pap smears to screen for cervical cancer is that the HPV virus can cause certain changes in that particular area which can lead to cancers. The good news is though that if a cancer in the back of the mouth is associated with HPV, typically the prognosis is more favorable than someone who has a HPV negative cancer.
The best way to screen for head and neck cancer is to have regular visits with your primary care doctor and your dentist. The reason I say these two is because dentists are often times the first line professionals that will find different growths and different abnormalities in a persons mouth. Being that the mouth is one of the most common locations of head and neck cancer, dentists are fantastic people because they will find them and at the end of the day a lot of the guidelines say that we should be seeing dentists for routine screenings and cleanings at least once or twice a year.
Again, seeing your primary care doctor is of upmost importance because they will be checking your general health, and if anything is abnormal they're the ones that can then say okay, maybe you need to have this test or maybe you need to see this person. Typically as a cancer surgeon a patient isn't' coming to me regularly until they either have a diagnosis or until they have a finding that's concerning enough that it needs to be intervened on.
A significant amount of it is up to chance just because it's very hard to predict who will get a second cancer, if they will get a second cancer. Like the initial question that we discussed, it's all about modifying the risk factors. If you have a cancer, then again it's always prudent to stop smoking, to stop alcohol use, those kinds of things. Again, those risk factors that predispose you to maybe having the first cancer are also the same risk factors that could predispose you to having a second cancer.
In addition to quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol use, getting regular checkups with your doctor and dentist can reduce your risk of head and neck cancers. “Many times, dentists will catch growths in the mouth and the back of the mouth,” Dr. Kadakia says.
Signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers can include:
Mouth or throat pain
Trouble swallowing
Voice changes or hoarseness that worsens and lingers
Persistent cough
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained fever
Lumps or swelling on the neck
An ulcer or irritation in the mouth that does not heal
Find Your Perfect Match
Answer a few questions and we'll provide you with a list of primary care providers that best fit your needs.
