Oral Cancer Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Oral cancer is reckoned to be a silent killer. Oral cancer affects the mouth oropharynx and the tongue.

Since oral cancer does not usually give any warning signs, it is really imperative to have periodic checkups of your mouth, so that you can take adequate steps if you are inflicted by a primary stage cancer. Early detection of cancer can help timely treatment and complete cure.

However, due to lack of health consciousness and awareness, some people, by the time they go to a doctor, have already reached an advanced stage of the cancer. Oral cancer hits without being noticed. Usually, in the preliminary stage of oral cancer, there are no signs of pain.

Signs and symptoms

You may feel soreness in your mouth.
Continuous pain in your mouth
Lumps inside the mouth
Grey, white, or red patches inside your mouth
Thickening of cheeks.
It will be difficult and painful while you move your tongue, chew, or swallow food or water.
It will be difficult and painful moving your jaw, or there may be swelling in your jaw with pain.
You may have a feeling that something has got stuck in your throat.
Pain in the gums.
Numbness and deadness in some parts of your mouth or tongue.
Change in the voice.
There can be lump in the neck
There can be pain in the ear, without any hearing problem.

Causes

Oral cancer occurs due to damage of the cells in the mouth and throat. Oral cancer is caused by smoking, tobacco, chewing betel, alcohol, exposure to ultraviolet rays, or using low graded or loose fitting dentures.

These factors can damage the cells and tissues, and gradually there will be fast growth of cancerous cells.

Risk factors

A variety of risk factors trigger oral cancer.

Tobacco consumption: Tobacco can seriously damage the cells of the entire mouth, throat, and linings of the oral cavity. Smokers are prone to oral cancers. It has been witnessed that more than 85 percent of people inflicted by oral cancers used tobacco. Tobacco is one of the main factors that can cause oral cancer.
Excessive Consumption of alcohol - Alcohol can damage the cells inside the mouth and throat. More than 75 percent of the people get affected by oral cancer due to excessive consumption of alcohol. Using both alcohol and tobacco can be a high risk factor for oral cancers.
Poorly or loose fitting dentures - It cannot be a risk factor for causing oral cancer; however, poor and loose fitting dentures can trap tobacco and alcohol particles in the mouth. This can be harmful and may even lead to oral cancer.
Excessive exposure to ultraviolet light - Too much exposure to ultraviolet rays can damage the cells of the lips, and increase risk of having lip cancer.

When do you need medical advice?

Consult the doctor if you have following signs and syndromes.

When the sores inside the mouth doesn’t heal
If you find lumps in your mouth, or if you find white, grey, and red patches inside your mouth
persistent pain inside your mouth
when you have repeated bleeding in your mouth
When you observe if there any changes in the soft tissues of your mouth.
When you get severe ear pain

The above mentioned factors could be the indication of oral cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment can completely cure the oral cancers.

Treatment

Generally, for the treatment of oral cancers in the early stage, doctors use radiation or surgery methods. But in the advance stage of oral cancers, there could combined therapies, radiation and surgery with chemotherapy to treat the oral cancers. The treatment is totally depends upon the studies and diagnosis of surgeons, cancer oncologist and radiation specialist. The future course of action or treatment depends upon them.

Importance of ayurveda and herbal medicines in treating oral cancers

Presently, people are getting more inclined towards ayurvedic and herbal treatment for oral cancers. Ayurvedic and herbal treatment is an ancient medical science having great heeling and curative powers to combat diseases. Herbal and ayurvedic medicines are based on the magical formulations of various herbs and natural products. Since eons, the medicinal values and properties of ayurveda have been effectively used to treat diseases and maintain good health.
There are effective ayurveda and herbal medicines to treat oral cancers. People all over the world have benefited using herbal mouth wash and medicines for treating oral cancer. There are no adverse side effects in taking ayurvedic and herbal medicines for the treatment of oral cancers.
But it is important that you should consult well qualified ayurvedic doctors or physicians for herbal treatment of oral cancers.

The Dreaded Oral Cancer