Last Updated on 6th December 2019
This year in the UK, around 8,300 people will be given the unfortunate life-changing news that they have mouth cancer, explains Evesham dentist Richard Colebourne from Evesham Dental Health Team on Broadway Road.
These numbers continue to rise while the disease claims more lives than cervical and testicular cancer combined.
Beating mouth cancer is dependent on diagnosing it at an early stage. If it is caught early, the chances of surviving the disease are nine out of ten, which is why this is so important.
It is also why we provide life-saving mouth cancer screening free of charge to any members of the public, all year round.
Incidences of mouth cancer have increased by 49% over the last decade. And some 82% of people do not know how to check for the disease, so it is clear that we need to raise awareness of mouth cancer and encourage everybody to be more vigilant about changes in their mouth.
The signs of mouth cancer
Everybody should be mouth aware and able to recognise the early signs of mouth cancer, which can strike in several places, including the lips, tongue, gums and cheeks.
This is what you should look out for:
• Ulcers which do not heal within three weeks
• Red and white patches in the mouth
• Unusual lumps or overgrowth of tissue in the mouth
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Difficulty in chewing or moving the jaw or tongue
• Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth
• A feeling that something is caught in the throat
• A chronic sore throat or voice change (hoarseness) that persists more than six weeks, particularly smokers over 50 years old and heavy drinkers
• Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable
• Neck swelling present for more than three weeks
• Unexplained tooth mobility persisting for more than three weeks – see a dentist urgently
• Persistent nasal (especially unilateral)l nasal obstruction, particularly associated with mucus (clear, purulent or bloody) discharge causing difficulty breathing through nose
• Unexplained persistent earache
Please share this list with your friends and loved ones so that they know what to check for too.
Let us put your mind at rest
Every dental health examination we carry out includes a screening for mouth cancer, so don’t be tempted to put off coming to see us regularly, as often as your dentist recommends.
Mouth Cancer Action Month is a charity campaign that aims to tackle the growing cases of mouth cancer. It takes place every November, and we continue raising awareness throughout the year.
If you have any concerns, please call us immediately on 01386 422833.
