parotid tumour

What is cancer of the parotid gland
The parotid glands are part of the system of salivary glands, which are found throughout the tissues of the mouth. The parotid glands are the largest of the salivary glands. There are two of them, the right and left. They lie just below the skin, in front of the lower half of the ear, and over the upper part of the jaw bone.
The cancer typically affects people in the 40 to 60 age group, and is slightly more common in women than men.
Adenoid cystic cancers are usually very slow growing. They begin as a swelling. Sometimes this may go unnoticed for several years before pain develops.
The cancer tends to grow into and spread along the paths of nearby nerves (which is one reason why they cause pain). The cancer cells may spread quite far in this way.
Surgery is the usual treatment. Because of the way the cancer tends to spread, this often involves quite a major operation to try to clear the cancer as completely as possible. If this isn’t certain radiotherapy is usually given to try to prevent further problems. Despite this the cancer may still come back in the parotid area (a local recurrence) some years later.
This type of cancer has so far proved very resistant to chemotherapy treatment.
Although these cancers are difficult to remove completely, because they are very slow growing, even people who have not been cured will often live for 15 years or more after their cancer has been diagnosed.
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