Mouth Cancer
What Is It?
The medical term for the mouth is the ‘oral cavity’. Mouth cancer includes cancer that starts anywhere in the oral cavity. In other words, the:Lips
Front two thirds of the tongue
Upper and lower gums, (the gingiva)
Inside lining of the cheeks and lips (the buccal mucosa)
Floor of the mouth, under the tongue
Roof of the mouth (the hard palate)
Area behind the wisdom teeth (called the retromolar trigone)
Pharynx is the medical name for the throat and is divided into 3 parts, and the oropharynx is one of these parts. The other two parts are the nasopharynx and the laryngopharynx .
The areas within the oropharynx include:
The back third of the tongue
The soft area at the back of the roof of the mouth (the soft palate)
The tonsils and two ridges of tissue in front of and behind the tonsils (called the tonsillar pillars)
The back wall of the throat
People sometimes use the term ‘throat cancer’ which can refer to many areas but this is not a very precise term and doctors don’t tend to use it. To avoid confusion, it is important to know the exact medical name of the cancer. Cancers are treated according to where they started.
Like other parts of the body, the head and neck contains lymph nodes (also called lymph glands). Lymph nodes are often the first place cancer cells spread to when they break away from a tumour. There are major groups of lymph nodes in the neck. Because they are close to cancers that start in the mouth and oropharynx the cancer can spread to these lymph nodes. So people with these types of cancer often need an operation to remove lymph nodes from the same side of the neck as the cancer.
Symptoms
The two most common symptoms of mouth cancer are:
An ulcer in the mouth that will not heal – 80% of people with mouth cancer have
this symptom Discomfort or pain in the mouth that will not go away
Other symptoms can include:
A white or red patch in the mouth or throat that will not go away
A lump or thickening on the lip, or in the mouth or throat
Difficulty or pain with chewing or swallowing
A feeling that something is caught in the throat
Unusual bleeding or numbness in the mouth
Loose teeth for no apparent reason
Difficulty moving the jaw
Speech problems
A lump in the neck
Weight loss
Bad breath (halitosis)
Less serious conditions than cancer may cause many of these symptoms but it is
important that you report any of these symptoms to your doctor or dentist.
Treatment
There may be a variety of treatment options and professionals involved.Web link - click here.