Treatments Offered for Oral and Mouth Cancer

Mouth cancer has become a very serious concern throughout the world, according to Tariq Drabu, a leading dentist and specialist oral surgeon in the United Kingdom. There are more than six thousand seven hundred new cases of mouth cancer each year and more than two thousand fatalities, these numbers are growing annually and cause more deaths than cervical and testicular cancer combined.

There are certain tell-tale signs of mouth cancer that everyone needs to be aware of, catching it early on can improve your chances of survival and help fight the cancer effectively. Mouth ulcers that don’t heal, red and white patches in the mouth and difficulty swallowing are all signs of this unwelcome disease.

Tariq Drabu did advise that there are a number of different treatment options for this form of cancer, which will be discussed in detail by your medical team. The team will identify the form of cancer and how advanced it is. Based on the stage of the mouth cancer will enable them to put an effective treatment plan together to help shrink or eliminate the cancer. In most instances there is chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery that are offered.

Sometimes just one of the treatments is enough to fight the disease, while in more advanced cases two or more of the treatments may be used to reduce the growth speed and help lengthen the life span of the patient. If the cancer has already spread to other organs of the body, treatments will be chosen to help slow the growth.

Surgery is often chosen to remove the affected tissues while ensuring the rest of the mouth isn’t damaged. Surgery is usually combined with another treatment to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. In some cases treatments may be offered to shrink the cancer prior to surgery, followed by a round of radiation therapy to reduce the risk of it returning.

During the early stages of mouth cancer, surgery is done using lasers. Once the disease is advanced, the mouth linking or even facial skin may need to be removed, these are replaced using grafts. If the bones have become infected, such as the cheek bone, the bone may be replaced with a bone graft or plastic bone, removing the cancerous bones to improve chances of survival moving forward.

Radiation therapy is a form of treatment that uses radiation to kill the cancer cells. This is usually used in conjunction with surgery. After your mouth surgery you will undergo a period of radiation to eliminate the risk of the cancer returning. In most instances you will have this treatment on a daily basis over a set period of time, which can be anywhere to seven weeks. There are side effects associated with this treatment which include dry mouth and feeling sick, to name a few.

Chemotherapy is a common cancer fighting treatment and is often combined with radiation therapy, according to Dr TariqDrabu. Chemotherapy is powerful medicine which helps kill the cancer cells. With this treatment you can expect to experience a range of unwelcome side effects. Each patient is different and may experience all or only some of the side effects this treatment provides. The side effects range from being sick to feeling tired and hair loss to a weakened immune system.

Dr Tariq Drabu recommends that everyone should visit their dentist for their regular routine appointments. These appointments are a way to identify any problems early on, such as mouth cancer. If mouth cancer is identified by the dentist in the early stages the life span of the patient is increased dramatically.