Oral and throat cancer accounts for 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in one year. It is extremely important to be able to locate it quickly and start treatment as soon as possible to greatly increase the chances of survival. For example, the five-year survival rate for patients who have non-metastatic oral cancer is 83%, while for individuals with metastases it drops to 32%. While your doctor and dentist can identify the condition, recognizing its signs can facilitate early diagnosis and seek immediate treatment. The more alert you are, the better.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Look for the Physical Signs
Step 1. Check your mouth regularly
Most, but not all, oral and throat cancers cause well-defined signs or symptoms during the early stages. Sometimes, the cancer is completely asymptomatic until it reaches an advanced stage. Regardless, doctors and dentists recommend checking your mouth regularly at least once a month, looking for abnormalities, as well as having regular medical examinations.
- Oral cancer can theoretically develop anywhere in the mouth and throat, including the lips, tongue, soft and hard palate, tonsils, and inside the cheeks. The teeth are the only immune elements.
- Consider buying or borrowing a small dental mirror from your dentist to better check the inside of your mouth.
- Brush your teeth and floss before inspection. If your gums bleed too much after cleaning or flossing, rinse them with warm salt water and wait a few minutes before proceeding.
Step 2. Look for small white lesions
Check your entire mouth to make sure there are no ulcers or white sores, which doctors call leukoplakias. They are precursor alterations of oral cancer and are often confused with canker sores, small ulcers caused by abrasions or minor trauma. Leukoplakias are also mistaken for bacterial infections of the gums or tonsils or for candidiasis (thrush).
- Although canker sores and other ulcers are typically very painful, leukoplakias do not cause pain until they are in the advanced stages.
- Aphthae are most common on the inside of the lips, cheeks and sides of the tongue, while leukoplakias can form anywhere in the mouth.
- Aphthae and other small abrasions usually heal in about a week following good hygiene practices. Conversely, precancerous lesions do not go away and often become larger and more painful over time.
- Any white ulcer that does not resolve within two weeks should be referred for medical attention.
Step 3. Look for red lesions or spots
As you inspect your mouth and back of your throat, look for any red spots or ulcers. They are called erythroplakias and, although less common than white lesions, they have a greater potential to develop into carcinoma. Erythroplakias are initially painful to touch, but they don't hurt as much as ulcers that look similar, such as canker sores, herpetic lesions, or gum inflammation.
- In the initial phase, the canker sores are red before ulcerating and turning white; erythroplakias, on the other hand, remain red and do not heal after a week.
- Herpetic lesions develop in the mouth but are most common along the outer edges of the lips. Cancerous red ulcers are always inside the mouth.
- Blisters and irritations caused by acidic foods can be confused with erythroplakias, but they go away quickly.
- Any red ulcer or lesion that does not heal in two weeks should be evaluated by a doctor.
Step 4. Palpate the lumps and rough spots
The other potential signs of oral cancer are lumps and the development of rough patches inside the mouth. Generally speaking, cancer is defined as an uncontrolled division of cells, so nodules, swellings or other growths can occur. Use your tongue to feel the inner surfaces of your mouth for bumps, lumps, protrusions, or wrinkled areas. In the early stages, these abnormalities are not painful and can be confused with other changes in the oral cavity.
- Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) often hides potentially dangerous nodules; however, this disease causes tissue to bleed when you brush your teeth or floss, while cancerous growths do not.
- Sometimes, the lump or thickening of the tissues alters the fit of the dentures causing discomfort, which is the first sign of mouth cancer.
- You should always be alarmed when you perceive a lump growing in your mouth or rough areas increasing in surface area.
- Wrinkled areas can be caused by chewing tobacco, denture abrasions, dry mouth (lack of saliva), or Candida infections.
- You should tell your doctor about any growth or roughness that does not go away within two to three weeks.
Step 5. Don't ignore the pain or tenderness to touch
These symptoms are usually caused by problems of a benign nature, such as a cavity, an impacted wisdom tooth, inflamed gums, a throat infection, canker sores, or poorly placed dentures. For this reason, it is quite difficult to distinguish potentially cancer-related pain, but if your dental condition is good and you have just had a follow-up visit, you should be suspicious.
- Sudden severe pain is usually related to a nerve or dental problem and is not a sign of cancer.
- Chronic aching or dull pain that gets worse over time is more concerning, but it could still be caused by dental problems that are easily remedied with a visit to the dentist.
- You should be alarmed if you experience nagging pain that spreads in the mouth and causes the lymph nodes in the jaw and neck to swell; it should be enough to make you go to your doctor right away for a check-up.
- You need to get to the bottom of the matter when you experience prolonged numbness or sensitivity in your lips, mouth, or throat.
Part 2 of 3: Recognizing the other Signs
Step 1. Don't ignore chewing difficulties
Due to the development of erythroplakias, leukoplakias, nodules, rough areas and / or pain, patients with mouth cancer often complain of difficulty chewing and moving the tongue and jaw. Loose or displaced teeth from developing cancer make it difficult to chew properly, so you should take note of these changes.
- If you are elderly, you should not assume that chewing problems are caused by poorly positioned dentures. If it hasn't bothered you in the past, it means something has changed in your mouth.
- Cancer of the mouth, particularly of the tongue or cheeks, leads to involuntary biting of these tissues more than usual.
- If you are an adult and notice that your teeth are losing or they are becoming crooked, make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible.
Step 2. Make a note of any swallowing difficulties
Due to the development of ulcers, lumps and tongue movement problems, many patients report not being able to swallow properly. The problem may initially occur only with food, but late-stage throat cancer makes it impossible to even swallow drinks and saliva itself.
- Throat cancer causes swelling and narrowing of the esophagus (the tube that leads to the stomach). in addition, the constantly sore throat causes pain every time you swallow.
- This condition can also manifest itself as numbness in the throat and / or a sensation of a foreign body, such as a "knot".
- Tumors of the tonsils and the posterior half of the tongue cause greater difficulty in swallowing.
Step 3. Pay attention to voice changes
Another common sign of oral cancer, especially in the end-stage, is difficulty speaking. Failing to move the tongue and jaw correctly, the patient is unable to pronounce words well. The voice becomes more hoarse and the timbre changes because the tumor invades the vocal cords. As a result, pay attention to changes in your voice and those who tell you that you are speaking differently.
- Sudden, unexplained changes in the voice may indicate the presence of a lesion in or near the vocal cords.
- The sensation of a foreign body in the throat leads some patients to develop an audible nervous tic in an attempt to constantly clear the throat.
- An airway obstruction caused by cancer can also change the way you speak and tone of voice.
Part 3 of 3: Getting a Medical Diagnosis
Step 1. Make an appointment with your doctor or dentist
If any of the signs or symptoms described above last longer than two weeks or worsen rapidly, you should contact your doctor or dentist immediately. Unless your primary care physician is also an otolaryngologist, the best thing to do is see your dentist, as they can quickly assess any other non-cancerous issues and treat them to give you some relief.
- In addition to a visual examination of the mouth (including the lips, cheeks, tongue, gums, tonsils, and throat), the doctor may also check the neck, nose, and ears to determine the cause of the symptoms.
- You will be asked about your risk behaviors (tobacco and alcohol use) and family history, as some cancers have a genetic component.
- Remember that people over the age of 40, especially if they are male or of African American descent, are considered at risk for oral cancer.
Step 2. Ask your doctor about special mouth dyes
In addition to getting tested, some dentists and doctors use special oral dyes to better visualize abnormalities, especially if you are considered to be at risk. For example, one of these techniques uses a dye called toluidine blue.
- By applying toluidine blue to cancerous areas, diseased tissues take on a darker color than surrounding healthy ones.
- Sometimes, damaged or infected mucous membranes also become darker; therefore, this test is not conclusive in diagnosing cancer, but is only a visual aid.
- To make sure it is a malignant tumor, a tissue sample (biopsy) must be taken for a specialist to view under a microscope.
Step 3. Ask your doctor to use a laser light
A further method of distinguishing between healthy and cancerous mouth tissues is to use special lasers. When light reflects on diseased mucous membranes, they appear different, more opaque than healthy tissues. Another option is to use a special fluorescent light to inspect the oral cavity after a rinse with acetic acid solution (basically vinegar). Again, the abnormal lesions will be more noticeable.
- If cancer is suspected, a biopsy is done.
- Alternatively, abnormal mucous membranes are evaluated through exfoliative cytology: the lesion is scraped with a stiff brush and the cells are observed under a microscope.
Advice
- Treatments for mouth cancer are usually chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In some cases, the lesions are surgically removed.
- By avoiding alcohol and tobacco, you can reduce the risk of developing this cancer.
- To identify cancer of the mouth early, it is important to have regular check-ups at the dentist.
- The incidence rate of this disease among men is double that of women. African American men are particularly prone to contracting it.
- A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli) is associated with a lower rate of oral and pharyngeal cancer.
