What are the symptoms of late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma and how to take good care of it

What are the symptoms of late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma? How to take good care of it?

1. For advanced patients, during radiotherapy and chemotherapy, they should eat foods that are easily digestible and rich in nutrients such as protein, vitamins, amino acids, etc.; quit smoking and drinking, and avoid spicy and irritating foods; and avoid eating too dry and rough foods.

2. The main symptom of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the late stage is swollen cervical lymph nodes: caused by tumor metastasis to cervical lymph nodes, the incidence rate is as high as 79.37%, and metastasis can occur unilaterally or bilaterally. The swollen lymph nodes in the neck are painless, hard, and movable in the early stage, but adhere to the skin or deep tissues and become fixed in the late stage.

3. In addition, as nasopharyngeal carcinoma infiltrates the surrounding area, any cranial nerve that is compressed will cause corresponding symptoms and signs. However, the trigeminal nerve, abducens nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, and hypoglossal nerve are more often affected, while the facial nerve, olfactory nerve, and auditory nerve are less affected.

4. If the patient is in great pain in the late stage, you can let the patient listen to music, watch movies and other entertainment activities, or sit quietly and take rhythmic deep breaths to distract his attention. These will help the patient produce positive physiological changes and enhance the analgesic effect of analgesics. In addition, you can also apply peppermint oil, camphor tincture, borneol, etc. locally to relieve local pain.