Nasopharyngeal cancer is not exclusive to the elderly

When healthy people talk about cancer, they seem to feel that it is far away from them. Besides special cancers such as leukemia, most people feel that cancer is a disease that only affects the middle-aged and elderly, and it seems to have nothing to do with young people under 30 years old. But this is actually not the case.

Xiao Liang from Hunan is only 23 years old this year. He has not yet graduated from university and is in the prime of his life. He is not very tired from studying, but he always feels uncomfortable and often has bouts of headaches. What is even more strange is that Xiao Liang recently found that his snot or spit is often a little red, and it seems to be bloodshot when he looks closely. Xiao Liang doesn't understand where the dryness comes from in such a humid environment in the south, especially in the hot summer. However, these symptoms did not attract Xiao Liang's attention. Not long after, Xiao Liang found that something was wrong and his headache seemed to be getting worse. Only then did he remember to go to the hospital for a check-up.

When Xiao Liang went to the hospital and told the doctor about his symptoms, the doctor prescribed a routine brain CT scan. Since Xiao Liang had never mentioned his bloody discharge to the doctor, the doctor did not think of anything else. Xiao Liang did not know that the two seemingly unrelated symptoms of headache and blood in the discharge were actually caused by nasopharyngeal cancer. Because Xiao Liang's nasopharyngeal cancer was still in the early stages, the CT report did not clearly indicate it. Fortunately, the doctor was not careless. After the CT scan results were released, the doctor carefully asked Xiao Liang about other changes in his daily life. When he heard that Xiao Liang had bloody discharge, the doctor was also very surprised and immediately suggested that Xiao Liang go to the ENT department for further examination. As expected, Xiao Liang was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer.

The doctor said that clinically, patients with nasopharyngeal cancer as young as Xiao Liang are still quite rare. The characteristics of nasopharyngeal cancer in young people are rapid development and poor prognosis, so the doctor recommended that Xiao Liang undergo radiotherapy immediately in order to achieve systematic treatment as soon as possible.