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What is Oral Cancer?
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Oral cancer starts in the cells of the mouth. Normally these cells are quite resistant to damage, but repeated injury from smoking, alcohol, or even friction may cause sores or painful areas where cancer can start.
Oral cancer accounts for about 2.3% of all new cancer cases in Canada each year. Oral cancer is aggressive, in 2002 it accounted for 1.5% of all cancer deaths in Canada. In fact, oral cancer carries a higher mortality rate than either melanoma or cervical cancer. The five year survival rate for oral cancer is low, at just 50%. However, early detection results in the survival rate increasing sharply to 80%.
Key Risk Factors
Understanding your risk factors and being able to identify signs and symptoms of oral cancer are good first steps in the prevention of the disease. If you are concerned or feel you may be at risk for developing oral cancer, talk to your dentist.
- Smoking - About 90% of people with oral cancer use tobacco. However, quitting tobacco and alcohol significantly lowers the risk of developing oral cancer, even after many years of use
- Chewing tobacco or snuff
- Heavy alcohol consumption - Particularly if combined with smoking
- Excessive sun exposure to the lips
- Age - Oral cancer is more common in people over 50
- Gender - More men than women develop oral cancer
Symptoms
- A sore on the lip or in the mouth that does not heal
- A lump on the lip or in the mouth or throat
- A white or red patch on the gums, tongue or lining of the mouth
- Unusual bleeding, pain or numbness in the mouth
- A sore throat that does not go away, or a feeling that something is caught in the throat
- Difficulty or pain with chewing or swallowing
- Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable
- A change in the voice and/or pain in the ear
Treatment Plans
Treatment plans are developed to fit the specific needs of the patient and must consider the patient's age and general health as well as the location, size, type and extent of the tumour and stage of the disease.
In most cases, treatment involves surgery and chemotherapy, radiation therapy or, in many cases, a combination of the two. Some patients receive chemotherapy treatment with anticancer drugs.
More Information: Canadian Cancer Society - Oral Cancer
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