Cancer of the mouth is a very common and yet very serious disease. There are several causes of it, and some people are more at risk than others, for instance, those who are smokers. To protect yourself from this disease, it may be a good idea to check into getting oral cancer screening oregon.
There are different histologic types of this disease. The first type is the teratoma. The second type is adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands. The third type is tonsillar lymphoma or melanoma from mucosa cells. Approximately ninety percent of these diseases are squamous cell carcinomas. These are carcinomas that originate in the mouth tissues or lips.
The disease often manifests as a non-healing sore or ulcer. This basically means an ulcer that is showing no signs of healing after about two weeks. In the US, this disease accounts for nearly eight percent of all malignant cancers. Men tend to be affected twice as often as women do, especially men that are older than sixty.
For proper screening, there should be a thorough examination of the mouth by your doctor or dentist to see if there is any visible or hidden lesions on the lips, tongue, or anywhere else in the mouth. The sides of your tongue are also a common area for lesions. As the tumor grows larger, it often becomes an ulcer and starts to bleed. After this stage, the patient may have difficulty talking, chewing, or swallowing. Some patients may need a feeding tube to get adequate nutrition.
Another early sign of the disease is a white patch on the soft tissues of the mouth. This is called a leukoplakia. If the sore shows as a red patch, this is called a erythroplakia. The sore may produce a burning sensation or become painful once the tumor has reached an advanced stage. Sometimes these sores can be observed behind the wisdom tooth or even behind your ear.
Smoking and using tobacco are associated with approximately seventy-five percent of all cases of the disease. This is because smoking causes the mucous membranes in your mouth to become irritated by the heat caused by cigarettes, pipes and cigars. Tobacco has more than sixty carcinogens. The combustion of these carcinogens by smoking and the by-products it creates is the main method of disease contraction. Also, using chewing tobacco and snuff can cause irritation as well when the tobacco or snuff comes in contact with the mucous membranes in your mouth.
A brush biopsy is non-invasive and can be used to rule out any dysplasia in areas of the mouth with unexplained discoloration or lesions. However, the only sure method of determining if a lesion is cancerous or not is through a biopsy and a microscopic evaluation of the cells in the tissue sample.
You should understand that nearly seventy-five percent of these cancers are associated with certain behaviors that can be modified over time, such as smoking tobacco and too much alcohol consumption. Other factors such as poor oral hygiene and irritation to the gums caused by badly fitted dentures are also contributors. Having poor nutrition and chronic infections from bacteria or viruses are also red flags. However, if oral cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, medical treatment will generally be effective with the disease.
There are different histologic types of this disease. The first type is the teratoma. The second type is adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands. The third type is tonsillar lymphoma or melanoma from mucosa cells. Approximately ninety percent of these diseases are squamous cell carcinomas. These are carcinomas that originate in the mouth tissues or lips.
The disease often manifests as a non-healing sore or ulcer. This basically means an ulcer that is showing no signs of healing after about two weeks. In the US, this disease accounts for nearly eight percent of all malignant cancers. Men tend to be affected twice as often as women do, especially men that are older than sixty.
For proper screening, there should be a thorough examination of the mouth by your doctor or dentist to see if there is any visible or hidden lesions on the lips, tongue, or anywhere else in the mouth. The sides of your tongue are also a common area for lesions. As the tumor grows larger, it often becomes an ulcer and starts to bleed. After this stage, the patient may have difficulty talking, chewing, or swallowing. Some patients may need a feeding tube to get adequate nutrition.
Another early sign of the disease is a white patch on the soft tissues of the mouth. This is called a leukoplakia. If the sore shows as a red patch, this is called a erythroplakia. The sore may produce a burning sensation or become painful once the tumor has reached an advanced stage. Sometimes these sores can be observed behind the wisdom tooth or even behind your ear.
Smoking and using tobacco are associated with approximately seventy-five percent of all cases of the disease. This is because smoking causes the mucous membranes in your mouth to become irritated by the heat caused by cigarettes, pipes and cigars. Tobacco has more than sixty carcinogens. The combustion of these carcinogens by smoking and the by-products it creates is the main method of disease contraction. Also, using chewing tobacco and snuff can cause irritation as well when the tobacco or snuff comes in contact with the mucous membranes in your mouth.
A brush biopsy is non-invasive and can be used to rule out any dysplasia in areas of the mouth with unexplained discoloration or lesions. However, the only sure method of determining if a lesion is cancerous or not is through a biopsy and a microscopic evaluation of the cells in the tissue sample.
You should understand that nearly seventy-five percent of these cancers are associated with certain behaviors that can be modified over time, such as smoking tobacco and too much alcohol consumption. Other factors such as poor oral hygiene and irritation to the gums caused by badly fitted dentures are also contributors. Having poor nutrition and chronic infections from bacteria or viruses are also red flags. However, if oral cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, medical treatment will generally be effective with the disease.
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