Symptoms of Oral Cancer
A whitish or velvety red patch of tissue instead of normal pink membrane in the oral cavity may signal a potential precancerous condition. If left untreated, the discolored patch may grow and begin to feel like a canker sore. The symptoms of oral cancer may include:
- a persistent lump, sore, or thickening along the side or bottom of the tongue, an the floor of the mouth, inside the cheeks, or on the gums, palate, or roof of the mouth; the lump may eventually bleed or be-come ulcerated.
- discomfort while eating, drinking, or swallowing.
- loose teeth, or toothache or earache that does not respond to conventional treatment.
- a swollen lymph, node in the neck.
Symptoms associated with advanced oral cancer include pain in the ear or roof of the mouth,' unexplained spasms in facial or neck muscles, or persistent bad breath.
Topics:
Oral cancers develop in 30,000 Americans and cause 8,000 deaths each year, mostly in people over age 40. This represents about 2.5 per cent of cancer cases and 1.5 per cent of all cancer-related deaths - a high rate considering the small size of the mouth in relation to the rest of the body. Along with cancers of the lungs and skin, cancers of the mouth are more preventable than most other cancers.
Facts and Figures
- Mouth cancer is more common in men than women, but the gap is closing
- Mouth cancer is more likely to affect people over 40 years of age, though an increasing number of young people are developing the condition
- Smoking, drinking alcohol and poor diet are major risk factors
- Risk rises dramatically for people who are both smokers and heavy drinkers
When healthy, the lining of the mouth (oral mucosa) is reddish pink, and the gums, which fit snugly around the teeth, are paler pink. The roof of the mouth (palate) is divided into two parts. The front part has ridges and is hard (hard palate); the back part is relatively smooth and soft (soft palate). The inside and outside surfaces of the lips are distinctly divided by a wet-dry border (the vermilion border); the outside surface is skin-like, and the inside surface is moist mucosa.
In healthy persons the tongue is red, firm and moist. In ill health, digestive disturbance, fever, or mouth breathing is likely to cause fur and dryness of the tongue. Fur forms most readily during sleep, particularly when the patient is on a milky diet. The tongue is especially likely to be dry in feverish conditions such as septicaemia (blood poisoning), peritonitis, and typhoid fever, when it becomes brown and shaggy.
Q: What is Cancer?
A: Cancer is a large group of diseases characterised by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.
Q: What Causes Cancer?
If slowing down isn't your cup of tea, consider this - slowly drinking and holding green tea in your mouth for a few seconds at a time keeps high levels of antioxidants in your mouth and throat. Scientists believe this could be why green tea drinkers get fewer oral and esophageal cancers than other people. What a great reason to relax over a cup.
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