Treatment of oral cancer (continued from last week)

How oral cancer is treated completely depends upon the stage at which the cancer is. Depending upon this, the treatment can be divided into three types: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.{{more}}

Surgery:

This is the most successful treatment of oral cancers. Here the complete affected area is excised and may involve sacrifice of some healthy tissue also. In most advanced surgeries like Radicular Neck Dissection (Commando Operation), lymph nodes and the internal jugular vein are also removed.

Radiotherapy:

This is done in cases where the cancer has not spread. It involves exposing cells to radiations thereby killing them. It is further of two types. External radiation involves giving radiation externally by machine and internal radiation is by placing implants. Internal radiation usually takes several days time to show the results. There are many side effects involved with radiotherapy e.g:

Xerostomia i.e. dry mouth

Sore mouth and throat

Tooth becomes prone to caries attack

Trismus i.e. difficulty in opening the mouth

Thyroid problems

Altered taste and olfactory senses.

Chemotherapy:

It involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. It is a long treatment and requires a lot of patience. It can cause temporary hair loss and patient may experience nausea and vomiting during the treatment phase.

PREVENTING ORAL CANCER

Prevention is better than cure, so every care should be taken to prevent oral cancer. Here are some tips to do so:

Avoid tobacco consumption in any form and also limit the consumption of alcohol.

Take care of the diet and avoid any spicy foods.

Go for a regular dental check-up.

In case of any abnormal findings, like white or red spots, non-healing ulcers, schedule a dental visit.

Avoid excessive sun exposure.

Dr Keith John

Email:drkeithjohn@gmail.com

Clinic: SVG Dental Corporation

Telephone: 784-456-2220

Cell: 784-526-0752