What are the potential complications of treatment?
Surgery
After surgery, you may experience complications e.g. wound pain, bleeding and wound infection. Depending on the extent of resection, you may suffer from a range of long-term problems. You should consult your doctor regarding potential complications that are relevant for you.
Radiotherapy
During the early weeks of radiotherapy, the patient may suffer from nausea, dry mouth, taste changes, loss of appetite, etc. In the later weeks, patient may have mouth ulcers, skin darkening, throat pain and hair loss, etc. However, these will gradually subside a few weeks after the completion of the treatment. But for some patients, they may continue to suffer from dry mouth as their salivary glands will produce less saliva because of the radiotherapy. A minority of the patients may have disturbed endocrine function, or impaired nerve function.
Chemotherapy
Although anticancer drugs can kill cancer cells, they also affect the division of normal cells. Patients may suffer from vomiting, hair loss, diarrhea, loss of appetite, anemia (a deficiency of red blood cells), reduced white blood cells, and thus lowered immunity; so, patients may be infected more easily. In addition, the kidney function may also be affected.