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Dentists may soon start asking about your sex life in a bid to control staggering HPV rates

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Jaleesa Baulkman for DailyMail.com Your dentist may be interested in more than just your flossing habits, but for a good reason. Dentists and dental hygienists are being encouraged to assess patients' risk of developing oral cancers from HPV, the most common sexually-transmitted disease. According to experts, they will likely skirt around the topic of their patients' sex life and ask about potential symptoms of cancer like jaw pain and swelling. But a new report published in the Journal of the American Dental Association insists it is imperative that dentists to play a more active role in detecting the disease, which is linked to seven types of cancer. 'What we're going to find over time is that HPV is going to be a more common cause of cancer over time,' Ellen Daley, a public health professor at the University of South Florida, told Daily Mail Online. 'We need to worry about how to prevent it.' HPV is responsible for about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common sexually transmitted infection in the US, it affects more than half of American adults. In fact, Dr Daley says it's as common as the common cold. However, asking about a patient's sex life isn't necessary to preventing HPV-related oral cancers. 'If [dentists] want to [ask patient's about their sex life], they can, Dr Daley explained. 'But that's not relevant since HPV is so common. We need to get [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-01-16T11:57:03-07:00January, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Beware the signs of mouth cancer

Source: www.pressandjournal.co.uk Author: Lisa Salmon Most people think of a mouth ulcer as a minor irritation that will disappear in a few days. Normally they’re right. But if the ulcer doesn’t heal and lasts longer than three weeks, it could be a sign of something more sinister: mouth cancer. Mouth, or oral, cancer, which can affect the lips, tongue, cheeks and throat, is one of the UK’s fastest-growing cancers. In the past decade, incidences have risen by 41% and, of the 5,000 people diagnosed with the disease every year, it kills around 2,000 of them. That’s one every five hours. About 70% of mouth cancers are detected at a late stage, which dramatically reduces the chances of survival. Yet if the cancer is detected early, more than 90% of people survive. For that reason, the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has organised Mouth Cancer Action Month. In November, the organisation aims to raise awareness of the condition – which recently struck the film star Michael Douglas – so that people recognise the warning signs and are regularly checked for mouth cancer by their dentist. Signs include ulcers which haven’t healed after three weeks and lumps, or red or white patches, in the mouth, all of which can be mistaken for something less serious. In addition, swelling below the neck or chin, pain when chewing or swallowing, or a feeling that you have something in your throat that can’t be swallowed, can also indicate the disease. If you have any of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-31T11:01:56-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Man wins £18k on tv game show after tongue cancer op

Source: www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk Author: staff For a man who had to learn how to talk again, there can be few greater tests than speaking on a TV game show beamed across the nation. But Maurice Paulson passed with flying colours – and won £18,000 and praise from Noel Edmonds in the process. The 81-year-old appeared on Channel 4's hit show Deal or No Deal having been taught how to speak again following an operation on his cancer-ridden tongue. Maurice said the show was great fun and that his appearance was a reward for the hard work Derby's doctors and nurses had put in to help him recover. Although he speaks with a rasp, every word is intelligible as long as he speaks slowly and enunciates. He said: "Noel said I was very brave for coming on. I didn't think so at the time – if people don't understand me now there's nothing I can do about it. The crowd were brilliant though. I won £18,000 and they all came down from their seats and hugged and congratulated me." Maurice, of Stenson Fields, was stunned when he was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2004. He said: "I had gone for a check-up because my neck kept swelling up and then going back to normal again. It's not the sort of thing you imagine would be cancer. "They asked me if I drank or smoked. But I gave up smoking decades before and, despite being a landlord for three pubs in my time, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-10T07:12:06-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|