Know More About Oral Cancer Facts

Know More About Oral Cancer Facts Cancer is the deadliest disease, not because there is no full-fledged cure yet, but because it has dozens of variants and manifests very differently in different people.

Let’s look at one of the more visible forms of cancer, oral cancer, or cancer of the mouth.

Where do you find oral cancer?

Oral cancer, like any cancer, causes the degeneration of the area it affects, which in this case is the mouth or the oral cavity. The oral cavity consists of everything in our mouths - the lips, the inner lining of your cheeks, your tongue, the roof of your mouth, and all other parts. It’s part of the group of cancers of the head and neck and can have similar symptoms. Oral cancer treatment in Mumbai is done with prognoses similar to other cancers in the head and neck area.

Who’s most likely to develop oral cancer?

What we must remember is that cancer is a disease that can strike anybody at any given point in time. A child can develop cancer as quickly as a fullfledged adult can. With that being said, the most likely oral cancer patients are smokers, people who consume large amounts of alcohol, and senior citizens.

This brings us to the question of susceptibility to cancer - are our grannies and grandpas, or even our parents, more susceptible to developing oral cancer than we are? Studies conducted in the US tell us that more than half of all oral cancer patients are above 65 years old; thus, the previous statement is very true. Let’s dive slightly deeper into this.

Are senior citizens more susceptible to oral cancer? Why? As you get older, much of your body stops functioning the way it’s supposed to, or it really slows down. The same goes for the oral structure of our mouths, which also changes over time. These age-related changes can be dryness in the mouth (inability to produce saliva), thinning of the enamel layer, etc. This makes room for tooth decay and other issues, including diseases like mouth cancer.

Sometimes, the medication or supplements prescribed for age-related dental issues can also trigger oral cancer, though this is not always the case.

How smoking & consuming alcohol affect oral cancer predisposition We’ve always heard that it’s best to stay away from smoking and drinking because both cause cancer, but how so? Cigarettes and cigarette smoke are full of poison that, upon inhaling, one brings into the bodily system. This can not only trigger cancer by damaging the DNA (which is how cancer sometimes starts), but it also worsens the condition by weakening the immune system against the disease. Alcohol reacts with your system to damage your DNA differently - it confuses your body in many ways and allows it to absorb more carcinogenic matter, highly increasing your disposition to cancer.

The social and geopolitical background for oral cancer It is noteworthy that many developing countries have high-oral cancer-risk populations with higher mortality rates than developed countries. This is because purchasing powers are higher in the latter, there is easier access to hygienic and appropriate healthcare. Also note that HPV and HIV are common predisposition factors for oral cancer, and middle and lower-income countries have larger populations of individuals with the disease.

In countries like India and Pakistan, where every few feet you can find people chewing on gutka and paan, oral cancer rates are higher, and so are the mortality rates. Africa is another continent full of developing or least developed countries, which puts the black community at higher risk for cancer with lesser means to battle it. There are some great clinics for cancer in major cities of lower and middle-income countries, such as some of the best mouth cancer treatment Mumbai offers at Maxfac.

In a nutshell Cancer can happen to anybody, but there are few communities at higher risk for oral cancer than others. This includes senior citizens, smokers, people that consume large volumes of alcohol, lower-income groups in developing countries, immunocompromised individuals with HIV and HPV, and more. It’s important to remember the risk factors and take adequate care of oneself to avoid cancer if possible.