The area that serves as your digestive system’s entrance is called the oral cavity. The teeth, tongue, and gums are located within the oral cavity. Maintaining good oral health is essential for your general well-being as well as for having a beautiful smile. Millions of people around the globe are affect by various oral healthcare problems. Some of them may be minor and can be take care of by simple home remedies or even some over-the-counter medicines. Others may be severe and cause complications.
The sixth most common cancer of the world is oral cancer i.e. cancer of the mouth and throat. It is one of the most common types of head and neck cancers. It may affect any working part of your mouth including the lips, tongue, inner lining of the cheeks, gums, back of the tongue, roof or the floor of the mouth. The best dentist in Lahore described in detail the causes, symptoms and treatment options available for cancer of the oral cavity. Let us share them with you.
Overview
You may see that with common dental or oral issues, the symptoms usually go away. Even if they do not, treatment makes them clear up soon. With oral cancer, the symptoms do not go away. Even if they do temporarily, they recur and that too with greater intensity.
If this cancer is left untreated, it can spread and affect other areas such as the head or neck. It is known that men are more affected by this type of cancer than women. Treatment depends on how early the cancer is diagnosed. It can be treated easily if it is diagnosed in the early stages. Prognosis is not good if diagnosis is done in later stages and the disease has progressed a lot.
Signs And Symptoms
Common signs and symptoms of oral cancer may include:
- Crusting on the lips, gums, and insides of your mouth
- Sores on the lips or inside. These bleed easily and do not heal well.
- You may feel numbness in different areas of the mouth or face for no apparent reason.
- Difficulty in chewing or swallowing
- Bleeding that cannot be explain
- Pain in the ear
- Chronic halitosis (bad breath)
- Weight loss that cannot be explain
- Loss of teeth
Causes And Risk Factors Of Oral Cancer
The first and foremost reason why people develop oral cancer is smoking cigarettes and cigars or using tobacco-based products often. Alcohol consumption is also consider one of the major risk factors for the development of this cancer. Mutations in the genes may occur in the cells of the mouth and can cause abnormal reproduction of cells.
If you have a history of oral cancer in the family or if you have been expose to HPV virus, you are more likely to get this disease. Excessive sun exposure without use of sunblocks and a weakened immune symptom are other predisposing factors.
Diagnosis
Usually the first signs of cancer in the oral cavity may be identify by a dentist. You may then be refer to a specialist to undergo some diagnostic tests. These may include:
Indirect laryngoscopy: This may include your doctor using a small mirror to look for signs at the back of your throat. He may also look at the base of your tongue and your voice box.
Direct laryngoscopy: This involves the use of an endoscope to look inside your throat and voice box. An endoscope is a flexible tube with a camera attach.
X-rays: An X-ray may be done to look for any tumors or cancer cells in the jaw, neck, chest or lungs.
Scans: Scans such as an MRI or CT scan may be done to look for the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. This is use to determine the stage of the cancer.
Biopsy: This may be a brush or incisional biopsy. Cells or small tissue from the mouth may be take to be observe for cancer.
Treatment Options
There are three options to treat this type of cancer, mainly surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Your doctor may discuss with you the possible treatment plan they will find the most feasible as per your condition and other factors such as age, general health and stage of cancer.
Sometimes radiation therapy may be combine with other treatment options, such as target therapy (precisely identifying and killing cancer cells, leaving normal cells intact) or immunotherapy. Immunotherapy involves the body’s natural immune system to fight harder against the disease. Surgery is for when tissue cannot be save and removal is necessary.
Conclusion
In summary, it is important to first take appropriate measures to prevent the disease from occuring instead of finding a cure later. Regardless of the stage of cancer you are diagnose with, regular appointments with your healthcare provider will be a necessity along with proper compliance to treatment.
