General Overview 

Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer which usually happens in the mouth and head area. For some reason, it mostly occurs in the elderly population above the age of 60. However, oral cancer is indeed very dangerous because it affects your lips, dental area, and tongue, making eating and drinking impossible. If it’s not treated soon then it will spread in your oropharynx, upper jaw, tonsils, and even in the throat area. Therefore, it is one of the most common forms of cancer which usually gets invasive in nature due to its cancer cell mutation. This article is going to shed light on some of the vital causes of oral cancer, and its medical treatment to keep patients safe.

What is oral cancer?

Oral cancer (Mouth Cancer) happens in the mouth and throat region. The worst thing about oral cancer is the negligence of people who think white patches or blisters in the mouth region would simply go away after some time. But in reality, it’s the changes that mutate cells into cancer-causing symptoms. There are several symptoms in mouth or oral hygiene that, left untreated, could turn into mutated cells, resulting in cancer symptoms. However, people always forget that the difference between a common mouth problem and cancer-causing cells is that these problems won’t go away. According to sources, approximately 63% of people only live 3-5 years after getting diagnosed with oral cancer.

Oral cancer: common causes 

Oral cancer usually begins in the squamous cells present in the oral cavity. These cells are usually flat and while taking a closer look under a microscope these cells look like fish scales. However, the worrying aspect is that when their DNA changes and starts multiplying then there is a potential cause of being a cancerous cell. The presence of cancerous cells is not the real problem because it’s their invasive nature which begins to spread over the period to different regions of the head and mouth risking your body. This is definitely a life-threatening condition that requires immediate attention.

Oral Cancer Symptoms 

The most worrisome thing about oral cancer is that it starts with common mouth problems,, e.g. white patches, blisters, and gum bleeding most people take it as a common mouth problem, but they need to pay attention to their affected mouth spots. However, these white patches can’t be treated properly no matter what you try. It will stop spreading for some time but these patches will keep on coming back making them cancerous symptoms. Listed below are some cancerous conditions that appear in your mouth region:-

1. Leukoplakia are flat patches in your mouth and throat region. This could be a sign of cancerous symptoms.
2. Erythroplakia are red patches raised on the upper jaw region that bleed when you start scraping through tongue cleaner. This is very painful, as no wonder mouth cancer is a slow death for many.

3. Erythroleukoplakia are red and white patches found in the tongue and throat region making your mouth full of red or white patches.

4. Mouth sores which usually bleed and don’t heal properly not even after 2 weeks.

5. Mouth bleeding without any reason which may be really bad and a cancerous symptom for your oral hygiene.

Oral Cancer habits

Approximately 75% of oral cancer patients will share these common habits, which have been discussed below, along with their potential risk factors. Everyone knows these habits are addictive and habit-forming, which might be very dangerous for many reasons. So, if you don’t wish to join others for their cancer journey then I would suggest that you shouldn’t fall prey to such habits. The list is as follows:

1. Smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes are the most common forms of practice, which are often seen as bad for your health due to their exposure to several cancer-causing health problems. Therefore, if you are someone who is smoking any of these then I would simply suggest you stop it immediately if you wish to save yourself from the ongoing cancer epidemic.

2. Chewable tobaccos are truly a traditional habit that is still alive and thriving in many cultures but you have to remember one important aspect defining the risk factors of oral cancers which are often ignored. Therefore, for safety and living a cancer-free life, one must understand the risk factors associated with tobacco consumption.

3. Drinking excess amounts of alcohol could be bad for your liver and mouth due to several reasons. However, you should always remember alcohol is a man-made beverage which includes chemicals that may cause hallucinations in your mind. This is only a single aspect but alcohol plays an important role in oral cancer.

4. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that affects different parts of the body. However, it has more than 30 strains of HPV which are usually monitored during genital warts and are completely safe and free from any side effects. This could be an amazing way to detect cancerous symptoms due to its physical changes as well.

5. Not using enough sunscreen which can initially expose your skin to harmful UV rays. On the other hand, due to longer exposure to the sun, your body becomes weak and vulnerable, forming blisters on your lips and a cancerous oral state where your body cannot protect itself. Therefore, it could be a great lesson for everyone, as you only need enough sunscreen to keep healthy body functions.

Oral cancer treatments

When you are looking for oral cancer treatments, there are only a few that are truly great and followed by the doctors. However, these treatments include surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy. Before going with any treatment, you have to consult your doctor about several things, including the stage, risk, and effectiveness of the treatments. Doctors would like to ask a few questions that are commonly asked in diagnosis screening. Some of them have been listed below:

• What kind of oral cancer? This is probably the very first examination of oral cancer where a healthcare provider will try to ask about something related to the cancer.
• This is probably the worst scenario examination where the healthcare provider will examine the original site of an invasive nature from there it will spread in the whole body.

• Taking your general age into account general health is the most important thing because you wish to treat cancer cells to maintain your general health.

• The aging factor is really surprising because elderly people are usually related to their roots in some way or other but mostly elders have tied their knot with some addictive practices, which is definitely bad.

Oral Cancer surgeries have been defined below with their respective role in cancer treatments. However, as the mouth cancer kept on spreading. mouth to head then these are some. of the most extreme treatments you can ask for:-

• Primary tumor surgery is a tumor removal surgery. your mouth or makes an incision in your neck. This is the final option available for many oral cancer patients who just want to live at any cost possible.

• Glossectomy is the removal of the tongue which can reduce the chances of spreading cancer cells within the mouth. Finding an appropriate way of eliminating any source of cancer cells

• Mandibulectomy is a common surgery that happens at the upper jaw level while keeping cancerous cells at bay.

• A maxillectomy is a surgery that removes the hard palate of your mouth to prevent the invasive danger of cancerous cells. It is also known as the bone part of the upper jaw.

• The reconstruction of the mouth region is the Aftermath treatment of any surgery listed above. It can cause a space in your mouth that may harm your basic mouth functions, including the chewing of food. Therefore, it’s really important to address the reconstruction phase of your mouth, as it takes bone tissues from other body parts to ensure proper reconstruction.

For many people, surgery alone isn’t very useful. Therefore, doctors start combining surgery with other therapy treatments, which have been listed below:-

• Radiation therapy is quite simple, it uses a high-energy beam to kill all the cancerous cells in your body. But before opting for this therapy you need to undergo surgical procedures in order to eliminate any sign of Cancer cells in the body. This could be the very initial phase of treating oral cancer where a radical approach was obviously welcomed by many doctors.
• Chemotherapy is an anti-cancer drug therapy that kills cancer-causing cells in the body with the help of anti-cancer drugs. These are the most crucial therapies that have been introduced in the modern age where medical science provides a better solution to cancers.

Final Verdict 

Oral cancer is surely a cause of cancer for many people who have been falling victim to cancer-causing habits that are addictive in nature. We all need to understand that things will surely brings towards a much better future and a cancer-free state.

About The Author

Dr Abimdola Amen, PhD, AFHEA

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