Oral cancer is the type of cancer that can be developed in any part of the mouth, like the mouth or even the throat. It is the largest killing disease categorized in the neck and head cancer field. Most oral cancers are found in the mouth, tongue, and lip. There are around 49,000 cases worldwide in the category of oral cancer. If you think or are tense about the survival rate of oral cancer, you should first understand how it comes about to have cancer like this. If you or anyone you know is having a dilemma regarding the health issues or what to do in such a case of assumptions, you can consider talking to experts at Cancer Hospital in Kolkata.
What are the different types of oral cancers?
One thing is sure the early detection of oral cancer depends on the survival rate, which further depends on the cancer stage and the amount of the infected area in your mouth.
Oral cancers are of many types and may be categorized into:
- Lips cancer
- Tongue cancer
- Cancer of the inner lining of the cheek
- Gums cancer
- Cancer of the floor of the mouth
- Cancer of the hard and soft palate
Suppose you think you may have any disease other than a simple dentistry effect. In that case, you can consider talking to your health expert, providing that you may not develop any serious condition.
What can be the risk factors for developing oral cancer?
One of the biggest causes and risk factors of organ cancer is tobacco use. If you chew tobacco regularly and consume alcohol or even cigarettes, you can be at risk of developing oral cancer. People who are addicted to tobacco and alcohol for a long time even stay at great risk of developing oral cancer and related health issues. Also, men are more likely to get oral cancer than women at twice the rate.
What are the various diagnosing procedures for treating oral cancer?
If you have developed the chances of oral cancer or any kind of disease related to the teeth, you can first go to your regular dentist. Your dentists may closely check your throat, mouth, teeth, cheeks, or lymph. There can be chances that your dentist may not be completely able to check the symptoms of oral cancer. In that case, you can go to your regular ENT doctor, who may check for the growth of any lesion or any kind of suspicious part in your ear, nose, or throat area.
- If your doctor finds the tumor, you will be given a brush biopsy which is one of the painless methods helping to collect the cells from the tumor and brush them into the slide.
- There is also a procedure called tissue biopsy, which removes the piece of the tissue and lets the doctor examine the issues through the microscope.
What multiple stages of oral cancer?
The survival rate of oral cancer depends on the stages of oral cancer, which can be divided into four parts:
- 1: At this stage, the tumor is around 2 centimeters (cm) or smaller, and the chances are that cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
- 2: At this stage, the tumor is around 2-4 cm, and the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes.
- 3: At this stage, the tumor may become even larger than the size of 4 cm, and there are chances that the tumor has not spread to the lymph nodes, and even if it has spread to lymph nodes, it has not spread to other body parts.
- 4: The tumor has spread to other lymph nodes, other body parts, and nearby tissues.
For any kind of cancer, there is a standard five-year survival rate that comes to be defined as per the cancer stage. The rate of survival depends on the type of cancer too.
- for localized cancer, the rate of survival is around 83% (where cancer hasn’t spread)
- For any cancer that has spread to the nearby lymph nodes, the survival rate of around 63%
- If cancer has spread to other body parts, the survival rate reduces to 38%
What are the various treatments for oral cancer?
Although the treatments for oral cancer depend on the type, location, and stage of cancer, there can be different ways with the help of which you can treat your cancer.
Surgery –
If the cancer is at an early stage, you can go for surgery. The doctor may take out the tissues and may check them thoroughly to proceed with the treatment.
Radiation therapy –
Radiation therapy involves using the radiation beam provided to the tumor at least twice a day, or five times per week, or five days per week. If the cancer is huge, your doctor may follow the combination of radiation treatment along with chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy –
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with the help of drugs. Most chemotherapy treatments are outpatient-based, so you don’t probably require the need for hospitalization or any kind of stay.
Targeted therapy –
It is the kind of therapy that binds a specific amount of protein, thereby reducing the pressure on the body. The therapy interferes with the growth of the cancer cells and helps target the cancer cells, especially with machines or beams. Some drugs help slow down the growth, spread, and the longer-living cancer cells. The therapy is less severe than that of chemotherapy.
The survival rate of oral cancer and the dependency on the treatment
Oral cancer is the most prevalent disease in developing countries like India. The five-year survival rate depends on 50% of the treatment with surgery and radiation therapy, which will effectively lower cancer risk in people. The overall survival rate for any kind of cancer depends on how effectively cancer has grown to the lymph nodes compared to the stage and other patients who have developed cancer in their lymph nodes. Although the prevalence of cancer is high in Southeast Asian countries because of the establishment of tobacco in the areas, the chewable form of tobacco seems to be more dangerous for the patients developing the chances of oral cancer.
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