What kind of cancer did beastie boy died of

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who died Friday at 47 , had been had been battling a type of salivary gland cancer for nearly three years. Cancer of the parotid gland is rare, representing 3 percent to 7 percent of all head and neck cancers, says Dr. Steven Frank, a radiation oncologist at M. Anderson in Houston who treats the disease, but had never seen Yauch as a patient. In the video Yauch was explaining to fans why the group was delaying release of their album "Hot Sauce Committee" and a tour.

Parotid cancer, which strikes men and women equally, often is diagnosed because patients or other people had noticed a lump or swelling on one side of their face, Frank says. It has a tendency to come back. At the time of his diagnosis, Yauch said the cancer was localized and hadn't affected his voice.

According to the American Cancer Society, the type of salivary cancer Yauch suffered from was very rare, with just two adults in , diagnosed with it every year. Most are 55 or older and doctors aren't sure what causes it, though traditional factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption are not thought to raise the risk.

The parotid gland is just in front of the ears and surgery to remove the cancerous cells is tricky because the facial nerve goes through the parotid, according to the Cancer Society. Yauch, 47, was treated for the cancer in , and in , there were false reports that he had beaten it. But he actually was never cured of the cancer, and he continued to battle the disease. While Salivary Gland cancer is very rare, it is one of the many types of oral cancers that are hard to treat unless caught early.

Visiting your dentist regularly and having them check for any suspicious areas in the mouth is essential to catching and treating oral cancers. What Are the Salivary Glands? The salivary glands make saliva and release it into the mouth.

Saliva has enzymes that help digest food and antibodies that help protect against infections of the mouth and throat. There are three pairs of major salivary glands:.

Most major salivary gland tumors begin in this gland. Arrow Created with Sketch. Calendar Created with Sketch. Path Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Plus Created with Sketch.