OPC Therapy

Compare your options

See how radiation-based and surgery-based treatment differ from each other. The side effects seen here may be more severe if the area of the throat and neck that is treated is larger.

	Radiation-based treatment	Surgery-based treatment
Advantages	Excellent treatment for oropharyngeal cancer Avoid post-surgical pain and recovery No removal of part of the back of your tongue or tonsils Avoid surgical risks Avoid surgical neck scar	Excellent treatment for oropharyngeal cancer Physical removal of cancer cells Allows your doctors to see the extent of cancer including size, lymph node involvement, and features that would increase your risk of the cancer coming back 30% of patients may be able to avoid radiation and/or chemotherapy
Disadvantages	5 days-a-week treatment, for 7 weeks Many patients need chemotherapy with radiation If the cancer comes back, surgery can be more difficult after radiation	70% of patients need radiation after surgery and 25% of these patients also need chemotherapy, based on the tumor’s features Having more types of treatment makes the total treatment time longer (up to 12 weeks) and can increase the number of side effects Surgical neck scar Post-surgical pain and recovery

	Side effects of radiation-based treatment	Side effects of surgery-based treatment
Common side effects (40% of patients or more)	Short-term mouth sores that will need treatment with pain medications and sometimes narcotics Short-term or long-term dry mouth Neck skin changes Short-term or long-term change in taste Thickened mucus causing gagging	Short-term post-surgical throat pain that will need treatment with pain medication including narcotics Short-term problems with swallowing Changes to appearance of neck (asymmetry) Ear numbness
Somewhat common side effects (20 - 30% of patients)	Swallowing issues that need a short-term feeding tube Dental cavities Thyroid issues that need medication Problems opening jaw widely A type of neck / face swelling called lymphedema Neck stiffness Short-term or long-term voice hoarseness Short-term or long-term hearing loss	Short-term shoulder weakness or pain Short-term weakness of the lower lip Short-term neck stiffness
Less likely side effects (5% of patients)	Long-term swallowing issues Jaw decay Long-term mouth sores	Short-term spillover of swallowed food or drink into the back of the nose Permanent weakness of the lower lip Poor wound healing Infection Permanent shoulder weakness or pain Long-term swallowing issues
Very rare side effects (Less then 5% of patients)	Getting a second type of cancer Tongue weakness Shoulder weakness or other nerve damage Stroke	Life-threatening bleeding Blood clots Side effects from anesthesia including death Permanent spillover of swallowed food or drink into the back of the nose

	Side effects of chemotherapy	(varies with medication and dose used)
Common side effects (40% of patients or more)	Short-term nausea and short-term vomiting Short-term partial hearing loss for high frequencies Short-term ringing in the ears Short-term tiredness or weakness Short-term loss of balance Short-term numbness or tingling in the fingers or toes Short-term decrease in blood counts, causing increased risk of infection or bleeding Short-term changes in taste Short-term hair loss
Somewhat common side effects (20-30% or more)	Long-term partial hearing loss for high frequencies Long-term ringing in the ears Short-term dehydration, a harmful decrease of water in the body
Less likely side effects (Less then 5% of patients)	Long-term numbness or tingling in the fingers or toes

How do my personal values fit with these treatment options?