It’s not often that a daughter can say she helped save her father’s life. Jonathan Jenkyn, a 43-year-old dad, found a lump in his neck while helping his daughter study for a biology exam.
"It was literally a luck of the draw that we picked the lymphatic system to cover that evening and I'm extremely glad I helped her on that day with her schoolwork," Jenkyn told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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Oropharyngeal Carcinoma Symptoms
Oropharyngeal cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissue of the oropharynx, according to the National Cancer Institute. It falls under the larger category of head and neck cancers, and symptoms of the disease include a lump in the neck and sore throat.
Other signs include sore throat that does not go away, trouble swallowing or opening the mouth completely, or moving the tongue, weight loss without reason, ear pain, white patch on the tongue that does not go away, or coughing up blood.
Risk Factors for Oropharyngeal Carcinoma
The most common risk factors for Oropharyngeal Carcinoma are tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, chewing betel liquid (a stimulant common in Asia), past history of head and neck cancer, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV).
About 70% of cancers in the oropharynx (which includes the tonsils, soft palate, and base of the tongue) are linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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