Oral Cancer
Adults
Oral Cancer is found on the lips, inside the mouth, on the back of the throat, the tonsils or salivary glands. More men than women are affected by oral cancer and it is most likely to be found in people over 40.The key risk factor is smoking in combination with heavy alcohol use.
Symptoms
Prevention
Treatment
Symptoms
Detecting the earliest signs of oral
cancer are not always possible, so regular dental check-ups are important.
- A sore on the lips, gums, or on the inside of the mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal
- A lump in the cheek that can be felt with the tongue
- Loss of feeling or numbness in any part of the mouth
- White or red spots on the gums, tongue, or on the inside of the mouth
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing food
- Soreness or unexplained pain in the mouth, or feeling that something is caught in the throat with no known cause
- Change in voice
Prevention
Tobacco use accounts for 80 to 90 percent of oral cancers. Avoiding the use of alcohol and tobacco products can not only save a person's life, but it can also save the others by not exposing them to second hand smoke.
Smoking
- Smoking affects general health by making it harder to fight infections and recover from injuries or surgery
- Oral health is a risk every time a person lights up a cigarette
- Smoking cigarettes, a pipe or a cigar greatly increases a person’s chance of developing cancer of the larynx, mouth, throat, and esophagus
- Oral cancer often spreads before it is detected because people are not aware or ignore the early symptoms
Chewing Tobacco
- Constant users of smokeless tobacco are 50 time more likely to develop oral cancer than non-users
Treatment
- Oral cancer can require surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy if the cancer is not detected early.
- Oral cancer can be fatal, with an overall five-year survival rate of approximately 50 percent.
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