ORAL CANCER—THE MAN-MADE BANE
ORAL CANCER—THE MAN-MADE BANE
What is oral cancer....???
The cancer affecting different sites of mouth are termed as oral cancer.
It is the growth of enormous no. of cells that attack and thereby damages the
neighbouring structures. Oral cancer is indeed a manmade disease as the major
causative agent is tobacco. Since centuries, it is said that tobacco, alcohol
and other recreational drugs such as snuff tobacco, betel quid, and marijuana
are main cause of oral cancer. Some other rare causes as Sun exposure, sharp
tooth and fillings.
Apart
from this the unhealthy lifestyle led by the generation, Intake of unhealthy
food, poor oral leading infections, patients with low immunity are more likely
to get affected than normal individuals.
What do the early stages of mouth cancer look like…??
The most common symptoms of oral cancer include:
- Thickenings or lumps on the lips, gums, or other areas inside the
mouth.
- Longstanding red and white patches which are thick velvety or eroded kind of consistency in the mouth.
- Non-healing, longstanding ulcer.
- Unexplained loss of sensation or pain in any part of the face,
mouth, or neck
- Persistent sore throat.
- Any difficulty in normal movements of mouth like chewing, speech, swallowing,
opening and closing etc.
- Any pain or lumpiness in the lower border of the face and neck.
- Pain radiating to lower border of face, neck, ear etc.
- Changes like weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite.
Is mouth cancer curable…??
Cancer detected at the early
stages is curable. But most of the patients get it diagnosed at a late stage
which makes it incurable.
How can you detect Oral Cancer…??
With advancing
technology, there are various methods of detecting oral cancers. Cancer
detection is conducted by a team of doctors, Multidisciplinary Team. This
comprises of Oncologist, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgeon, Otolaryngologist, Radiologist, Pathologist, Speech
Language Pathologist, Dietician. Screening and examination to detect any kind
of abnormalities or unhealed spot on the oral soft tissues or any kind of lumps
present in the head and neck region.
A biopsy is another method
to detect cancer by collecting the sample of tissue from the suspected site of
lesion and is sent for pathological examination for further confirmation.
What are the common sites of Oral Cancer…??
What are the possible treatments for Oral Cancer…??
The success rate of
treatment completely depends from person to person. Size of the tumour, the extent
of the tumour, response to the treatment, immunity, dietary habits etc. are
some of the factors to rely on.
Surgical incision and
removal of the tumour mass for small lesions confined to a particular area. For
larger masses, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are done along with surgical removal
to stop the further spread. Surgical removal of large masses in head and neck
may also involve dissection of some parts of the face.
Radiotherapy uses high
energy rays to abolish the cancerous cells, whereas Chemotherapy is done using
chemicals such as anti-cancer drugs to kill the cancerous cells.
Targeted therapy is
targeting the multiplying cancer cells (which causes the spread of cancer) killing them.
Cetuximab is the drug of choice.
After the treatment of Oral Cancer…??
After treatment
reconstructive surgeries are conducted to correct facial aesthetics and to
correct the defects caused due to dissection. Rehabilitation of speech,
swallowing, chewing and dental issues. leading a positive healthy lifestyle
with a proper diet and exercises. Regular follow-ups with your doctors.
Our Patient Stories:
How do we make an appointment?
We are located physically near the southernmost tip of India, a town named Nagercoil near Kanyakumari.
However, we have other options for patients from far and wide, who can’t travel
for a direct physical consult. The pictures can be sent to our What’s App
Number +919443182860 or emailed to drsunilrichardson@hotmail.com
and appointment asked or advice sought.
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