Cancer: Can you smell that? A type of tumour affecting your smell sense
Dr Sara Kayat discusses ants that can smell cancer
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Olfactory neuroblastomas are rare malignant tumours that arise from the sense of smell and extend into the nasal cavity. Smell or lack thereof are major indicators pertaining to your risk.
Olfactory neuroblastoma is a tumour that grows in the nasal cavity.
The nasal cavity has nerves and other tissue that are responsible for the sense of smell.
This kind of tumour begins in the nasal cavity and can grow into the nearby eyes and brain.
“When a cancer starts specifically in the nerves that affect your sense of smell, it is known as olfactory neuroblastoma,” says John Hopkins Medicine.
The health site added: “An olfactory neuroblastoma often happens on the roof of the nasal cavity.
“It involves the cribriform plate, which is a bone between the eyes and located deep in the skull.
“Olfactory neuroblastoma is a rare form of cancer.”
Symptoms of olfactory neuroblastoma include:
- Pain around the eyes
- Stuffiness or congestion that worsens or doesn’t improve
- Blockage of the nose
- Nasal drainage in the throat (postnasal drip)
- Watery eyes
- Nosebleeds
- Pus from the nose
- Face or tooth numbness
- Loose teeth
- Decreased sense of smell
- Loss of or change in vision
- Ear pain or pressure
- Trouble opening the mouth
- Enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.
Treatment for each patient will be unique.
It’s important for anyone concerned to see an expert in olfactory neuroblastoma treatment to decide the best approach.
There are no standard guidelines for treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma.
Treatment is dependent on the stage of the cancer.
Treatment options to discuss with your doctor include:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy.
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