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Your salivary glands make saliva - sometimes called spit - and empty it into your mouth through openings called ducts. Saliva makes your food moist, which helps you chew and swallow. It helps you digest your food. It also cleans your mouth and contains antibodies that can kill germs.

Salivary gland cancer is a type of head and neck cancer. It is rare. It may not cause any symptoms, or you could notice:

• A lump in your ear, cheek, jaw, lip, or inside the mouth
• Fluid draining from your ear
• Trouble swallowing or opening the mouth widely
• Numbness, weakness, or pain in your face

Doctors diagnose salivary gland cancer using a physical exam, imaging tests, and a biopsy. Treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Your salivary glands are in your mouth. You have three pairs of major salivary glands and hundreds of small (minor) glands. They make saliva (spit) and empty it into your mouth through openings called ducts. Saliva makes your food moist, which helps you chew and swallow. It helps you digest your food. It also cleans your mouth and contains antibodies that can kill germs.

Problems with salivary glands can cause them to become irritated and swollen. You may have symptoms such as:

• A bad taste in your mouth
• Difficulty opening your mouth
• Dry mouth
• Pain in your face or mouth
• Swelling of your face or neck

Causes of salivary gland problems include infections, obstruction, or cancer. Problems can also be due to other disorders, such as mumps or Sjogren's syndrome.

X-rays are a type of radiation called electromagnetic waves. X-ray imaging creates pictures of the inside of your body. The images show the parts of your body in different shades of black and white. This is because different tissues absorb different amounts of radiation. Calcium in bones absorbs x-rays the most, so bones look white. Fat and other soft tissues absorb less and look gray. Air absorbs the least, so lungs look black.

The most familiar use of x-rays is checking for fractures (broken bones), but x-rays are also used in other ways. For example, chest x-rays can spot pneumonia. Mammograms use x-rays to look for breast cancer.

When you have an x-ray, you may wear a lead apron to protect certain parts of your body. The amount of radiation you get from an x-ray is small. For example, a chest x-ray gives out a radiation dose similar to the amount of radiation you're naturally exposed to from the environment over 10 days.