Oral cancer kills one person every hour of every day. As you saw through the NBC-DFW segment on HPV and its strong association with cases of oral cancer from a previous post, the Fight Oral Cancer Foundation has been raising awareness on the importance of oral cancer screenings. Another purpose of the NBC taping was to bring awareness to the increased spread of oral cancer and the high mortality rate of those that are diagnosed with it. The reason for higher mortality rates for oral cancer than with other types of cancer, such as breast cancer, is the simple fact that oral cancer often goes undetected, until it is too late.
Although our office routinely performs oral cancer screenings for our patients, knowing oral cancer symptoms is important. In order to offer a bit more information on how to self-screen for oral cancer and visit your physician if need be, please see the oral cancer symptoms below:
- Sore in the mouth or throat that doesn’t heal
- Loose teeth
- Lump or thickening in the neck, face, jaw, cheek, tongue or gums
- Difficulty swallowing or the sensation that something is caught in the throat
- Earache or sore throat that does not go away
- Dentures that cause discomfort or do not fit well
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing or moving the tongue or jaw
- Persistent bad breath
- Unexplained weight loss
- Change in voice
The symptoms above do not necessarily mean that you have oral cancer. However, they do serve as warning signs to be monitored.
With increased awareness and routine screenings, we can help save lives.