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A scratchy, hoarse voice is one of the most familiar symptoms around: it shows up after a cold, a night of shouting at a concert, or a bout of acid reflux, and it usually clears up within a week or two. Laryngeal cancer, a cancer of the voice box, often announces itself in exactly this same unremarkable way, which is precisely why it can go unnoticed for months. The single most useful piece of guidance from head and neck specialists is simple: hoarseness that lasts longer than three weeks should be evaluated by a doctor, not waited out.
Laryngeal cancer is one of the more common cancers of the head and neck, and it is also one of the more preventable ones, since its two biggest risk factors, tobacco and alcohol use, are well established and modifiable.
