Just keep breathing

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) is the name of the tumor discovered in my trachea in March 2020. It is a type of salivary gland cancer, one of more than 20 different types. This slow-growing tumor usually occurs in the salivary glands, but is sometimes found in other parts of the body such as the breast, uterus or trachea. ACC is known for spreading along the nerves through a kind of thin tentacles. This makes treatment difficult and the chance of recurrence is high, also (or perhaps especially) in the long term. In 2020, 115,047 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with cancer. The most common cancers are breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. If I compare these figures and convert them to the percentage in relation to the total number of diagnoses, the enormous difference is clearly visible. Breast cancer: 15,077 = 13% Prostate cancer: 12,815 = 11% Salivary gland cancer: 179 = 0.16% About 10% to 15% of salivary gland cancers are ACC. That would be around 20 diagnoses f...