Oral Cancer Caused By Tobacco Use
Many people are affected by mouth cancer. It comes as no shock that most of the people affected have used smokeless tobacco for most of their lives. Smokeless tobacco is any tobacco that is placed directly into the mouth, rather than smoked from a cigarette. This includes chewing tobacco, dips and tobacco that is sucked on.
There are many chemicals found in most types of smokeless tobacco that are linked to cancer of the mouth. These chemicals include carcinogens, nitrosamines, benzopyrene, crotonaldehyde and nickel. The amount of nicotine absorbed by the body from chewing tobacco is also greater than the amount absorbed by smoking a cigarette.
Oral cancer can affect all parts of the oral cavity. This includes the floor, tongue, lips, roof of the mouth as well as the gums. Oral cancer is also found in the throat, the esophagus, the larynx and the nose.
In a 2005 study conducted in the United Kingdom there were approximately 5000 people that were diagnosed with oral cancer. In 2006 Oral cancer was responsible for over 1500 deaths. Remember that these numbers are approximate. You can find more information about oral cancer statistics at this site http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/oral/
The symptoms of oral cancer include: Mouth sores that stay open, Red or white patches on the tongue or the gingival, ear pain and chronic sore throat. There are some other symptoms linked to mouth cancer such as difficulty chewing and swallowing, chronic pain in the mouth and bleeding or numbness in the gums.
Dealing With Oral Cancer
In some cases oral cancer is treatable. In other cases the cancer can be fatal. Treatment is a long and vigorous process. Oral cancer can be treated by radiotherapy, chemotherapy or oral surgery. The type of treatment needed is best determined by a medical doctor or a specialist.
Although as many as 90% of oral cancer patients are smokeless tobacco users, it still leaves another 10% that are not. There is no real concrete evidence on what causes oral cancer in patients that are nontobacco users. Cancer patients who have used tobacco and those who have not generally have the same amount of treatment time. They also have the same number of fatalities from cancer. This leads us to believe that cancer caused from tobacco it not more vigorous that cancer not caused from tobacco.
Day to day living can be a challenge for those who do have oral cancer. At times they may feel depressed and alone. It is important that oral cancer patients have a large network of love and support. There is a support group for those who suffer from oral cancer. It can be found at this site: http://www.spohnc.org/. While it has never been proven, some people think that when a person has a lot of love and caring people in their life they tend to fight the cancer off much quicker.
If you think that you or a loved one may have oral cancer it is best that you seek the advice of your medical doctor immediately. Only your doctor has the necessary resources to determine if you have oral cancer or not.
If you do have oral cancer, remember that you are not fighting this battle alone. Many others have had oral cancer. There are many others suffering from oral cancer today. Remember it is important to put up a good fight, while medical researchers look for a cure.
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