by Victoria Dame

Created on: May 25, 2008

Early Signs Of Mouth Cancer

If you notice a sore in your mouth that doesn't seem to want to heal, pain in your mouth that won't go away, lumps or white, red or dark patches, your cheek seems to be thickening, you have difficulty chewing or swallowing or even moving your tongue, swelling or pain in your jaw, soreness in your throat or feeling that something is caught in your throat, pain around your teeth or loosening of your teeth, numbness of your tongue or elsewhere in your mouth, changes in your voice, a lump in your neck, really bad breath then run don't walk to your doctor. Because all of these can be signs or oral or mouth cancer.

Sometimes the early signs of mouth cancer do not cause pain or discomfort but they can be seen. So it is important to check your mouth for any of the changes.

From time to time, spend a few moments in front of the mirror looking in your mouth. Check your tongue, gums, lining of your cheeks, lips under your tongue and the roof of your mouth. But remember your dentist can easily check the parts you cannot see.

Most mouth cancers show up on the lips, tongue or the floor of the mouth. But they also can occur inside your cheeks, on your gums or on the roof of your mouth. Whatever you do never ignore changes in your mouth. You probably won't have mouth cancer but its best if you get them checked out.

While cancers to the mouth - lips, cheek palate, and tongue- are not as common as other cancers, they are still dangerous and can be fatal. Early detection and treatment may improve your outcome dramatically because when found early there is a very good chance of a cure.

As with most other cancers, the direct cause is not known, but smoking and drinking alcohol, poor oral hygiene, sunburn on the lips and poor fitting dentures are all risk factors. Men are three times more likely to get mouth cancer than women. Older adults run twice the risk of younger people.

People who use tobacco and drink too much alcohol have the highest risk of mouth cancer. Up to three-quarters of mouth cancers are caused this way.

When detected early mouth cancer is almost always successfully treated. Unfortunately many oral cancers are far advanced by the time a doctor is made aware of the situation. This is because oral cancers are usually painless in their early stages or have minor symptoms similar to other health problems, such as a toothache.

The American Cancer Society estimates more than 30,000 new cases of oral and throat cancer occur annually in the United States. And it is estimated that more than 7,000 Americans die of oral and throat cancers annually.

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