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Head, neck cancer: what you need to know by M. Boyd Gillespie, M.D. President, Yul Brynner Foundation, South Carolina Chapter Sammy Davis Jr., Ulysses S. Grant, Sigmund Freud.  Although living in three different eras, all three men died by the same silent killer. Seventy thousand Americans will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer this year; 15,000 will die of the disease, but many people remain unfamiliar with this form of cancer, commonly referred to as “throat cancer.”  Head and neck cancer involves cancer of the lips, tongue, tonsil, palate, neck, and larynx (i.e. the voice box) and the most common cause identified with it is tobacco and alcohol use. However 10 percent of people who develop head and neck cancer never used these substances. Although head and neck cancer is becoming less frequent in some areas of the country, South Carolina currently leads the nation in the incidence of oral (i.e. mouth) cancer.  Recent data shows that this disease is becoming an increasing burden in the African-American community. Although the incidence of head and neck cancer is only slightly higher in black men than white men in South Carolina, black men are twice as likely to die from the disease, in part because black men may not see a doctor until the cancer is too advanced to cure.  A curable disease if diagnosed early, the major signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer are hoarseness, swallowing difficulty, bleeding non-healing mouth ulcer, bloody cough, sore throat, neck mass, and unexplained weight loss. If you have any of these signs and symptoms, please see your doctor immediately.  In an effort to diagnose head and neck cancer early, the Yul Brynner Foundation offers free head and neck cancer screenings during Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week annually in April.  The actor Yul Brynner, famous for his role as the King of Siam in the movie “The King and I,” started this foundation to educate people about the risks of tobacco and its connection with head and neck cancer.  For more information, visit the foundation’s Web site at http://www.yulbrynnerfoundation.org. MUSC, East Cooper hospital, Roper CareAlliance, and Trident Health System offer screenings on April 11.  The screening will be performed at no charge, and anyone diagnosed with a head and neck cancer will be assisted in getting the care that they need whether or not they have health insurance.    Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.