What You Should Know About Oral Cancer Screening Oregon

By Karina Frost


Cancer of the mouth is a very common and yet very serious disease. There are several causes of it, and some people are more at risk than others, for instance, those who are smokers. To protect yourself from this disease, it may be a good idea to check into getting oral cancer screening oregon.

This disease affects people globally. As of 2010, more than 124,000 people have died of oral cancer. This is up from 82,000 who died from it in 1990. Nearly 37,000 Americans are estimated to be diagnosed with the disease in the coming year. Of these 37,000 new cases, about half will survive for five years or more. More than two-thirds will be diagnosed at stage three and four, which are late stages of the disease. The actual death rate for mouth cancer tends to be higher than cancers of the cervix, skin, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The disease often manifests as a non-healing sore or ulcer. This basically means an ulcer that is showing no signs of healing after about two weeks. In the US, this disease accounts for nearly eight percent of all malignant cancers. Men tend to be affected twice as often as women do, especially men that are older than sixty.

A premalignant lesion is normally benign. It is altered tissue that has the potential of becoming malignant over time. There are various types of these premalignant lesions that can occur in your mouth. Many of these lesions begin as red or white patches in the mouth. Some common lesions that may be premalignant are lichen planus of the mouth, actinic cheilitis and submucous fibrosis.

In certain Eastern countries, submucous fibrosis of the mouth is a common disease. It is often manifested by a limited capacity for opening the mouth, accompanied by a burning sensation when eating spicy foods. It is important to note, that this lesion tends to be a progressive one, and the opening of the mouth can become increasingly limited over time. This is serious because, as time goes on, trying to eat normally becomes very hard for the patient.

There are many screening devices that doctors and dentists may use to detect oral cancer. Some of these devices include the Velscope, the identafi 3000 or the Vizilite Plus. Doctors need to be careful that these devices do not harm the patient through over use, or produce false positives that may lead to unnecessary biopsies.

Although tobacco is a significant risk factor, some studies suggest that alcohol based mouthwashes may also pose certain risks. Some scientists claimed that constantly exposing the mouth to these alcohol-based rinses could lead to a greater increase in the risk of developing oral cancer, even if the user does not smoke or drink alcohol.

Surgical removal of the mouth tumor is often recommended if it is small enough. This may produce satisfactory results. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy is also used along with surgery, particularly if the tumor is considered to be inoperable.




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