Top cancer surgeon urges public to get mouth ulcers checked

Source: www.dentistry.co.uk Author: staff A top cancer surgeon is calling on people with mouth ulcers and neck lumps to get their symptoms checked. This follows fears from dentists that mouth cancer cases may have gone undetected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that a new international study suggests patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancers are at no extra risk when it comes to COVID-19 transmission. Professor Richard Shaw is a consultant and head and neck cancer surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is calling on the public to act fast if they notice any symptoms. These include neck lumps, mouth ulcers, mouth or throat lumps, difficulty swallowing and a hoarse voice. Don’t delay ‘We know that it can be scary to come to a hospital or any healthcare setting at the moment. People are putting off that trip to the GP and waiting that bit longer to see if their symptoms go away,’ he said. ‘The findings of this study are really important because we can now assure people who need head and neck cancer surgery that it is safe, even during the pandemic.’ He added: ‘Time is of the essence with head and neck cancer. The sooner it is diagnosed the sooner we can treat it – and if we catch it early then the curative surgery required is much less invasive. ‘My message to anyone concerned about symptoms is to get them looked at by a health professional without [...]

Mouth cancer in the UK at record high

Source: www.hippocraticpost.com Author: staff New cases of mouth cancer in the UK have risen to a record high, according to the findings of a new report. New figures show there have been 8,722 new cases of mouth cancer in the UK last year. This is an increase of 58% compared to ten years ago and 97% compared to 20 years ago. Data released in a new report to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Figures collected by the Oral Health Foundation show that 8,722 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year, increasing by 97% since 2000. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have soared for the 11th year in a row and have more than doubled within the last generation. The findings are part of the charity’s new State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2020/21 and have been released to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Dr Nigel Carter OBE, Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation, believes with mouth cancer cases continuing to rise, more must be done to raise awareness of the disease. Dr Carter says: “While many cancers are seeing a reduction in the number of people affected, mouth cancer is one of very few that is sadly going the other way. Established risk factors like smoking and excessive alcohol have been joined by emerging causes like the human papillomavirus (HPV). This has changed the profile of the disease quite considerably over recent years and mouth cancer can now affect anybody. [...]

2020-11-04T11:53:47-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month: Self-exams, early detection can save lives

Source: www.prnewswire.com Author: press release Because early detection of oral cancer offers a greater chance of a cure, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) is reminding the public during Oral Cancer Awareness Month of the importance of performing monthly self-exams. AAOMS promotes self-exams and screenings every April with the Oral Cancer Foundation, which predicts about 53,000 new cases of oral cancer will be diagnosed in 2019 in the United States – leading to more than 9,000 deaths. "A monthly self-exam takes only minutes and could potentially save your life," said AAOMS President A. Thomas Indresano, DMD, FACS. "If done on a regular basis, you're increasing the chances of identifying changes or new growths early. The survival rate for oral cancer is between 80 and 90 percent when it's found at early stages of development." Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) encourage a six-step oral cancer self-exam that involves looking and feeling inside the mouth for suspicious sores and feeling the jaw and neck for lumps. Using a bright light and a mirror: First remove any dentures. Look and feel inside the lips and the front of the gums. Tilt the head back to inspect and feel the roof of the mouth. Pull the cheek out to inspect it and the gums in the back. Pull out the tongue and look at its top and bottom. Feel for lumps or enlarged lymph nodes in both sides of the neck, including under the lower jaws. Oral cancer symptoms may include [...]

Smokers are 40 times more likely to develop cancers in head and neck

Source: www.heraldandnews.com Author: Andrew Creasey, Staff Reporter The level of concern you should have for contracting cancer of the head and neck can be gauged by the answer to one simple question: Do you smoke? If the answer is no, chances are your oral cavities and voice box, the places cancers most commonly occur, will be safe from the onerous growth that can cause death if not treated soon enough. If the answer is yes, then you are 40 times more likely to contract head or neck cancer if you have been smoking for 10 years, and you should probably be aware of what to look for, said Dr. Richard DeVore, an otolaryngologist in Klamath Falls. Signs of head and neck cancer include a sore or ulcer that doesn’t heal, unexplained bleeding of the throat and, most importantly, throat or tongue pain that persists beyond several weeks, DeVore said. Such pain could be caused by the cancer, which actually eats into the tissue and can cause significant pain when it starts munching on the local nerves. Swallowing difficulties, hoarseness and lumps in the head and neck that don’t respond to antibiotics should also be examined, DeVore said. At the onset of such symptoms, it is vital to share them with a physician, DeVore said. Caught early, the cure rate of many neck and head cancers is 100 percent and can be solved with a simple operation. “The cure rates are slowly improving to some degree, but it’s a bad disease,” [...]

Mouthing off against oral cancer

Source: www.marketwatch.com Author: staff April Is Oral Cancer Awareness Month According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 30,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year, and more than 8,000 deaths occur annually. The five-year survival rate for oral cancers is roughly 50 percent. In observance of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) recommends that patients receive a dental exam from a general dentist every six months. Dental exams not only help to decrease a patient's risk of oral diseases, such as cavities and periodontal (gum) disease, but they also may help to diagnose other, sometimes life-threatening, medical conditions, such as oral cancer. "The next time you visit your dentist, ask about an oral cancer screening," says AGD spokesperson Seung-Hee Rhee, DDS, FAGD. "Your dentist will feel for lumps or irregular tissue changes in your neck, head, cheeks, and oral cavity and thoroughly examine the soft tissues in your mouth, specifically looking for any sores or discolored tissues. Although you may have already been receiving this screening from your dentist, it's a good idea to confirm that this screening is a part, and will remain a part, of your regular exam." Although oral cancer is sometimes difficult to self-diagnose, warning signs may include bleeding sores; sores that do not heal; lumps; thick, hard spots; soreness or feeling that something is caught in the throat; difficulty chewing or swallowing; ear pain; difficulty moving the jaw or tongue; hoarseness; and numbness of [...]

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