Mouth Cancer
by Joey Girard
Mouth Cancer is....
- The oral cavity is the lip, the tongue and the throat.
- There are two types of oral cancer, oral cavity cancer and oropharyngeal cancer
Symptoms of mouth cancer
- Sores on the mouth that do not heal
- A lump or thickening of the cheek
- A white or red patch on the tongue, tonsils or mouth lining
- A sore throat or feeling of something caught in throat
- Trouble chewing, swallowing, or moving tongue and jaw
How prevalent is it?
Around 45,750 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer, oral or pharyngeal.
8,650 people will die from it this year, that's about one person per hour, per day. Only half of the people diagnosed will be alive in 5 years.How is it diagnosed?
- Sores on the mouth that do not heal
- A lump or thickening of the cheek
- A white or red patch on the tongue, tonsils, or mouth lining
- A sore throat or feeling of something caught in throat
- Trouble chewing, swallowing, or moving tongue or jaw
- Doctors and dentists may also find cancer or pre-cancer during an exam
Possible causes of mouth cancer
- Tobacco use of any kind, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and snuff
- Heavy alcohol use
- Sun exposure to your lips
- Human papillomavirus is also linked to this cancer
Recovery
Recovery can be hard for some people, after treatment patients may have trouble..
drinking
swallowing
breathing
eating
speech may be lost
- facial disfigurement is also a possibility
Treatment
Treatment for this cancer may affect your appearance, ability to eat, talk, and breathe.
Surgery is used to remove tumors from the head and it is the most common treatment. Radiation is another form of treatment, the doctors attack the cancer with radiation in multiple ways like Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Radiosensitizers, and radioprotectors.
Mouth Cancer at the molecular level
Oral cancer is the most common tissue tumor in the oral cavity, it makes up more than 90% of oral tumors.
The risk factors interact with certain genes important for cellular development and they may lead to tumorous mutation in the cells.
Genetic mutations over time accumulate and lead to oral cancer to develop.