When is radiotherapy recommended for voice box cancer?

The decision depends on where the cancer sits in the larynx, its size and spread, the condition of nearby lymph nodes, your voice and swallowing function, and your general health. Radiotherapy may be the main treatment for some earlier cancers. It may also follow surgery when there is concern that cancer cells could remain, or be combined with medicines for more advanced disease. In selected situations, treatment can be planned to avoid removing the voice box, although preserving the organ does not always preserve normal voice or swallowing.

A radiation team maps the tumour with scans and marks the treatment area. The aim is to focus radiation on the cancer while limiting exposure to nearby healthy structures such as the throat, spinal cord and salivary glands.

Bring a list of medicines, previous treatments and swallowing or breathing concerns to the oncology visit. Ask whether you need dental review, speech and swallowing assessment, nutrition support, or a voice-preservation plan before treatment begins. During treatment, follow the team’s skin and mouth-care instructions, keep fluids available, and report increasing pain or difficulty eating early so support can be adjusted.

Seek urgent medical help for severe breathing difficulty, noisy breathing that is getting worse, inability to swallow liquids, coughing or vomiting blood, or rapidly increasing swelling of the neck. Contact the treatment team promptly for fever, dehydration, worsening mouth or throat pain, or new difficulty managing saliva.

Ask which part of the larynx is involved, what the treatment is intended to achieve, whether surgery or medicine is also needed, and how treatment may affect voice, swallowing, taste and saliva. Ask what symptoms should be reported the same day and which specialists can help with nutrition or speech.