April Month : Oral Cancer Awareness

It’s called mouth cancer, tongue cancer, lip cancer or oral cancer – and this year alone, approximately 36,000 Americans will be diagnosed with it.

That works out to about 100 new cases a day. What’s more, unlike many other forms of cancer, oral cancer is actually becoming more common. In fact 2010 is the fourth year in a row there’s been an increase in the rate of occurrence.

After getting a second chance at life, it became obligation to educate the public about the early signs of oral cancer. With an early diagnosis, oral cancer is far more survivable and curable.

Early-stage oral cancer is often painless and goes undetected. Every dental checkup should include a six-step screening.

• Early signs of oral cancer include a mouth sore that doesn’t heal quickly, a change in color or texture of the oral tissue, or persistent pain.
  
• Signs of tonsillar and base-of-tongue cancer include a chronic sore throat, difficulty swallowing or a lump in the neck.
  
• Ask your dental team if they have up-to-date knowledge and skills in early detection of oral cancer.
  
• 37,000 new cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. annually, killing one person per hour.
  
• Young, non-smokers are the fastest growing segment of the population diagnosed with oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
  
• Oral cancer is survivable if detected early. Early detection saves lives!
  

8 Steps Oral Cancer Screening:
















So what can you do to protect yourself?

Get the Facts

A good first step is to know the risk factors for oral cancer. The biggest include:

• Using tobacco or alcohol – particularly in combination
  
• Exposure to human papilloma virus version 16 (the same virus implicated in cervical cancer)
  
• Too much time in the sun and a family history of cancer
  

At the same time, it’s important to remember that anyone can get oral cancer. In fact more than 25% of people with oral cancer don’t smoke or use alcohol to excess.

Oral Cancer Symptoms:

The below video describes the symptoms of Oral Cancer

Know the Odds

When oral cancer is diagnosed early the prognosis is hopeful– with a survival rate of between 80 and 90%. But when it isn’t found until it’s reached its later stages it’s far harder to treat – with the result that the overall 5 year survival rate is just 45%.

While oral cancer is usually treated by some combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the mix varies depending on the individual and how promptly the cancer was diagnosed.

• When oral cancer is found early it can usually be treated effectively without changing a person’s appearance or ability to function.
• When it’s discovered later, treatment can cause considerable disfigurement and make it hard for patients to chew, swallow or speak clearly.

Clearly early detection is key – but it isn’t easy, because signs and symptoms of oral cancer are hard to see and can look very much like other conditions.

Take Action

 There ARE things you can do to protect yourself, though. For example:

Experts recommend you do a self exam at least once a month – making sure to look carefully at your lips, tongue, gums, cheeks and the rest of your mouth and feeling for lumps on your neck and lower jaw.

Plus, because it can be so hard to find signs of oral cancer yourself, the American Cancer Society also recommends you have your dentist do a cancer screening every three years if you’re over 20 and every year if you’re over 40.

Oral Cancer screening will give you to complete diagnosis of your oral health and also helps in finding out cancer symptoms in the early stages. So take action today rather than suffering tomorrow..!!

Cheers,

Marshall

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