Following Megadeth Dave Mustaine’s battle with throat cancer, and announcing to fans that he’s been declared “cancer-free,” the rockstar is hitting the road again on a tour scheduled for 2021.
Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019, which forced him to stop touring in order to start treatment. The musician underwent chemotherapy for the disease, and kept fans up to date on his progress. In February, Mustaine announced that he had beaten the disease and was declared “cancer-free,” stating that he couldn’t wait to start touring again. Due to COVID-19, music performances have been postponed throughout 2020, but Mustaine took to Instagram to share that his band Megadeth is planning a tour for 2021.
Read MoreNew Radiotherapy For Side Effects Of Throat Cancer
Following throat cancer treatment, patients may have difficulty swallowing which can dry the mouth significantly. To help survivors manage these side effects, a new radiotherapy has been developed by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research in London which helps reduce the risk of difficulty swallowing for throat cancer patients.
Radiotherapy, also known as radiation therapy, is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to both kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Researchers conducted trials with 112 people who had newly diagnosed throat cancers, and found that 40% of the participants reported ease swallowing after going through the new radiotherapy treatment. The study also showed that 15% of participants reported no difficulty swallowing by undergoing standard treatment.
Dr. Jessica Geiger explains how HPV is linked to throat cancer
Causes Of Throat Cancer
Smoking is one of the leading causes associated with throat cancer, but some might not know that Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is also linked to the disease. Recent studies from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have indicated that as many as 60-70% of these throat cancers may be linked to HPV or caused by a combination of HPV, alcohol, and tobacco. Luckily, people diagnosed with HPV-linked throat cancer have strong survival rates and usually recover from the disease.
“HPV-related throat cancer, generally, is very responsive to treatment with radiation and chemotherapy,” says Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. “The cure rates for patients who have HPV-related disease are a lot higher than those who have tobacco-related throat cancer.”
While people with HPV have a risk of developing throat cancer, the main causes are still alcohol and tobacco use. The more often that cigarette smoke comes into contact with the tongue and throat, the more damage occurs to the DNA in these cells. Each time that a cell repairs its DNA, there's a risk of developing a cancerous mutation in the throat and mouth.
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