Should I see a nasal cancer specialist?

Men and women discussing nasal and sinus cancer

This page tells you about the guidelines that GPs have to help them decide who needs to see a specialist for suspected nasal or nasal sinus cancer. You can go to information on

A quick guide to what's on this page
The guidelines
Urgent referral guidelines
What to do if you are still worried

Should I see a nasal cancer specialist?

It can be very difficult for GPs to decide who to refer to a specialist. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has produced guidelines to help GPs decide who should be seen urgently by a specialist.

Urgent referral guidelines

According to Department of Health guidelines, you should ideally get an appointment within 2 weeks for an urgent referral. The NICE guidelines say you may need urgent referral to a specialist if you have

An unexplained lump in your neck that is new, or has changed in the previous 3 - 6 weeks
An unexplained sore throat that has lasted longer than it should
Unexplained swelling in the glands under your ear, or around your lower jaw, that does not go away
Unexplained pain on one side of your head or neck for more than 4 weeks, with ear ache for no apparent reason

The guidelines also say the GP should send you for an urgent chest X-ray if you have had a hoarse, husky or quieter than normal voice for more than 3 weeks, particularly if you are a smoker aged over 50, or a regular, heavy drinker.

If you are still worried

If you think your GP is not taking your symptoms as seriously as they should, you could print this page (and the symptoms page) and take it along to an appointment.

CR PDF Icon You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the about nasal cancer section.

It can be very difficult for GPs to decide who to refer to a specialist. With many symptoms, it is perfectly right that your GP should ask you to wait to see if your symptoms go away on their own, or respond to treatment such as antibiotics. If GPs referred everyone with any symptom to a specialist immediately, the system would get jammed and those needing urgent appointments wouldn't be able to get them.

There are particular symptoms that mean your GP should refer you to a specialist straightaway. NICE (The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has produced guidelines for GPs to help them decide which patients need to be seen urgently by a specialist. These Government guidelines on referrals for Head and Neck cancers were revised in 2011.

While reading these guidelines, it is important to remember that

Nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancers are very rare, with about 500 new cases each year in the UK
A number of risk factors affect your chances of developing a head and neck cancer

According to Department of Health guidelines, you should ideally get an appointment within 2 weeks for an urgent referral. The guidelines for GPs say that you may need urgent referral to a specialist for nasal and nasal sinus cancer if you have

An unexplained lump in your neck that is new, or has changed in the previous 3 - 6 weeks
An unexplained sore or painful throat, that has lasted longer than it should
Unexplained swelling in the glands under your ear, or around your lower jaw, that does not go away
Unexplained pain on one side of your head or neck for more than 4 weeks, with ear ache for no apparent reason

Your doctor may also want to refer you to a dentist urgently if you have a loose tooth for more than 3 weeks, for no apparent reason.

It’s important to bear in mind that some of these symptoms can be caused by other less serious medical conditions and do not always mean that you have cancer of the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses.

Apart from those mentioned in the guidelines, there are other nasal cancer symptoms that you may want to see your GP about. If you are concerned that your GP is not taking your symptoms as seriously as you think he or she should, you could print this page (and the symptoms page) and take it along to an appointment. Ask your GP to talk it through with you and then you may be able to decide together whether you need to see a specialist, and if so, how soon.