NPC Symptoms Q&A

So I have been asked multiple times by many friends on how I found out I had cancer, more specially, nasopharyngeal carcinoma. As with any cancer, early detection is key to your prognosis.

Like Lance Armstrong, I ignored all the early symptoms and warnings that would have helped catch my cancer at an earlier stage. Unfortunately, detecting nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at an early stage is difficult as the symptoms are usually presented and masked as symptoms of a common cold or allergy.

For me, I had:

• nosebleeds (I've had nosebleeds since I moved from humid Taiwan to not-so-humid USA at an early age)
  
• headaches, especially during hot weather (who doesn't have a headache now and then)
  
• post-nasal drip that lead to a persistent cough, more so during the day than at night (I went to multiple doctors who thought it was just allergies due possibly to the smog and pollen)
• popping sensation in my right ear and, not so frequently, ear pain (perhaps I should have pushed my doctors harder on this one as I'm not sure this is all that common for colds and allergies)

My cancer was not discovered until it was locally advanced with metastasis to my lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies NPC into three subtypes:

• Type 1: squamous cell carcinoma
• Type 2: non-keratinizing carcinoma
• Type 3: undifferentiated or poorly differentiated carcinoma

Unfortunately and fortunately, I was diagnosed with type 3. Type 3 is most aggressive, but out of the three types, it responds best to radiation treatment.

Your body is an amazing system with each and every organ serving a distinct and useful purpose. Please do not ignore the early warning signs.