Saturday, September 20, 2014

Important New Information About Oral Cancer Screening Oregon

By Karina Frost


Cancer in the mouth is a type of head and neck cancer. It is described as any cancerous tissue growth that is located in your oral cavity. Many thousands of people are affected by this disease every year, and many people die from it. Educating yourself about oral cancer screening oregon may prevent this from happening to you or your family members.

There are different histologic types of this disease. The first type is the teratoma. The second type is adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands. The third type is tonsillar lymphoma or melanoma from mucosa cells. Approximately ninety percent of these diseases are squamous cell carcinomas. These are carcinomas that originate in the mouth tissues or lips.

The survival rate for this disease depends on many factors, such as the site of the growth and the stage at which it is diagnosed. The survival rate tends to be around 57 percent at five years regardless of gender, ethnicity, age group, and modes of treatment. However, the survival rate for stage one of the disease is approximately ninety percent. This is why doctors emphasize screening and early detection to increase survival rates for patients.

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.

Another early sign of the disease is a white patch on the soft tissues of the mouth. This is called a leukoplakia. If the sore shows as a red patch, this is called a erythroplakia. The sore may produce a burning sensation or become painful once the tumor has reached an advanced stage. Sometimes these sores can be observed behind the wisdom tooth or even behind your ear.

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.

You should understand that nearly seventy-five percent of these cancers are associated with certain behaviors that can be modified over time, such as smoking tobacco and too much alcohol consumption. Other factors such as poor oral hygiene and irritation to the gums caused by badly fitted dentures are also contributors. Having poor nutrition and chronic infections from bacteria or viruses are also red flags. However, if oral cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, medical treatment will generally be effective with the disease.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment