Cancer is the irregular growth of cells at an uncontrollable pace. This irregular growth of cells leads to the formation of a lump called a tumor. Cancer cells grow in any part of the body and slowly spread to other parts of the body. Cancer that develops in the tissues of mouth or throat is called Oral Cancer. Oral cancer can occur at any part of the mouth including Lips, Gums, tongue, the inner lining of the cheek, the roof of the mouth, and under the tongue. If oral cancer gets diagnosed at an early age it can be cured. Since it is easy to examine the mouth, dentists easily recognize oral cancer at its early stage. Through this article, we will try listing down oral cancer symptoms & treatment options available for curing oral cancer.
Oral cancer is of three types
●Squamous cell carcinoma
●Verrucous carcinoma
●Salivary gland tumors
Oral cancer gives some early signs and symptoms to warn the patient. These signs and symptoms include-
●An unhealing and persistent sore on lip or mouth.
●Bleeding from the mouth.
●Pain and loosening of the teeth.
●Weight loss
●Difficulty in moving jaws and tongue
●Difficulty in chewing and swallowing
●Lump in the neck
●Numbness in lower lip, chin, face, and neck.
●Change in voice
●Sore throat
Bad breath that won’t go away
●Persistent earache
●Red and white colored patches on mouth or lips
●Thickening of cheek
Once you witness one of these symptoms in and around your mouth, you should visit the best cancer hospitals in India. Though it is possible that these symptoms can exist to indicate other conditions but you are recommended to visit your dentist if you recognize any of these symptoms especially when the symptoms exist persistently and won’t go away for a long time.
Doctors have identified certain factors that increase the risk of oral cancer in an individual. These risk factors include-
●Use of tobacco. This use of tobacco could be of any kind including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and others.
●Heavy consumption of Alcohol.
●Exposing your lips to the sun for long hours.
●A weakened immune system
●A sexually transmitted virus called human papillomavirus (HPV) also causes oral cancer.
Oral cancer can prove out to be a life-threatening disease if not cured at its early stages. The disease, however, can be prevented if we follow a healthy lifestyle and follow certain precautionary measures in our life. We should prevent the consumption of tobacco in any form. We should avoid excessive consumption of alcohol. Make sure to protect our lips from direct sunlight for long hours. We should visit our dentist regularly and get our mouth inspected at regular intervals.
The treatment of oral cancer-
Type of oral cancer patients has, stage of cancer, and the test results are some of the factors on which the treatment choices depend on. Oral cancer can be treated either locally or systematically. Local treatment aims at destroying, controlling, or removing cancer from one area. Surgery and radiation therapy are counted as local treatments. Systematic treatments destroy and control the cancer cells which have traveled to other parts of the body. Taking pills or injection and chemotherapy are examples of systematic treatment.
Different type of treatments used to cure oral cancers are-
●Surgery
●Radiation therapy
●Chemotherapy
●Targeted therapy
●Supportive care
The patient can be given one treatment or a combination of treatment depending upon the type of cancer patient is suffering from. Oral cancer can be life threatening if recognized at later stages. To avoid such circumstances one should take care of their mouth and should follow a healthy lifestyle.
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