Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

What are the parts of the nose? The nose is made up of connective tissue (cartilage) and bone. It contains two cavities, which are separated in the middle by a septum. The nose serves as the organ of smell and is the airway for breathing. It filters, warms, and moistens the air which is breathed in. What are the sinuses? The sinuses are air spaces within the bones of the face and the skull. They connect through small openings (ostia) into the air passages in the nose. The soft, moist mucous lining which coats the inside of the nose extends into the sinuses. There are four types of sinus: frontal (within the bone just above and behind the eyebrows), maxillary (in the bones of the cheeks beneath the eyes), ethmoid (near the side of the nose and inner part of the eyes and going back into the skull), and sphenoid (in the skull above the level of the nose). Is cancer of the sinuses common? No. Cancer of the sinuses is very rare. Most often it is the maxillary sinus that is invol...

Where are the salivary glands? The major salivary glands are in the sides of the face, in front of and slightly below the ears. These salivary glands are also known as parotid glands . The saliva gets from these glands to the mouth through parotid ducts, which open on the inner surfaces of the cheeks. There is also a pair of glands in the lower jaws (submandibular glands) and under the tongue (sublingual glands). The ducts from these glands open into the floor of the mouth underneath the tongue. Where are tumors of the salivary glands found? Tumors of the salivary glands are most often found in the parotid glands. Most often these tumors are not malignant. They are either on the outer surface of the parotid gland, which is near the ear, or in the inner surface, which is in the mouth. Benign parotid gland tumors are usually painless and slow growing. Malignant tumors ofthe parotid tend to grow rapidly. Sometimes a tumor seems to be benign for many years and then suddenly becom...