What is oral cancer?
Oral cancer is a common form of head and neck cancer, which can affect the inside of the mouth, as well as the lips and throat. A similar form of cancer is oropharyngeal cancer, which affects the oropharynx—the middle part of the throat.
How do you treat oral cancer?
Oral cancer is treatable and can often be cured, though the treatment plan and how long the recovery takes depends on the type of cancer and the stage at which it was diagnosed.
Before you can be treated for oral cancer, you’ll need to be screened and then diagnosed. Screening is a routine procedure that you can request at just about any dental appointment. There’s some debate about how often you should be screened, but if you’re curious you can ask your dentist. If you’re diagnosed with cancer, your provider will speak with you about potential treatment options.
Most oral cancers will require you to be referred to an oncologist or specialist of some kind trained to treat and track your cancer’s progression. Depending on your oral health benefits, procedures like biopsies that aid in diagnosing cancer could be covered but the actual cancer treatment is more likely covered by your medical carrier.
Talk to your benefits provider if you have questions about what may or may not be covered.
Remember that you always have a say in which kind of treatment you get. It’s always okay to ask your doctor questions and to let them know about your concerns. Deciding on a treatment plan can be difficult, as all treatments have potential side effects and risks. Common treatments of oral cancer include:
Surgery
Tumor removal
Sometimes, a doctor will recommend an operation to surgically remove a tumor. In this procedure, a surgical oncologist will remove an area with cancerous cells, as well as a small amount of healthy tissue surrounding the area. This is referred to as the “margin.” When surgery leaves no trace of cancer in that area, it’s called having “negative margins,” and is considered a positive outcome.
Lymph node dissection
Lymph nodes are part of the body’s immune system. They’re small structures containing white blood cells that help your body fight disease and infection, and there are hundreds of them throughout your body. When cancer affects the oral cavity, or oropharynx, it’s not uncommon for it to affect lymph nodes in your neck. A lymph node dissection, also called a lymphadenectomy, is a procedure in which a doctor removes lymph nodes and takes a sample of tissue in order to check for signs of cancer. This might be recommended before or after receiving another form of cancer treatment.
Reconstructive surgery
After receiving treatment for oral cancer, some patients find it difficult to speak or swallow. This can occur when the doctor needs to remove large areas of tissue. In these cases, doctors may recommend reconstructive surgery. They might do this by taking healthy tissue or bone from other parts of the body to replace areas that were impacted.
There are several kinds of medical professionals who might be involved, depending on the situation. For instance, reconstructive or plastic surgeons specialize in the actual procedure, prosthodontists can create artificial dental parts, and speech-language pathologists can help with both communication and eating.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, (sometimes referred to as “chemo”), involves taking anti-cancer drugs, either by mouth or through an injection into a vein. Depending on what stage you’re at, the goal may be to kill cancer cells, shrink cancers, or slow the growth of cancer cells for as long as possible. It is given at different stages of cancer development, before or after surgery, or on its own.
This form of treatment takes weeks to work. You’ll be given a schedule that includes cycles in which you receive a drug (or combination of drugs) at a doctor’s office, hospital, or infusion center, followed by a rest period. The schedule varies depending on the individual patient---it might be once a week or once every several weeks.
Radiation therapy
If you undergo radiation therapy, doctors will use high-energy x-rays or particles to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth. You might be recommended radiation as the sole treatment, or before or after surgery. Within radiation therapy, there are several different kinds, some of which use machines outside the body to target tumors and generally don’t require hospitalization. Another kind of radiation therapy involves inserting a small implant in the body near the cancer site and leaving this in for several days while you stay in a hospital.
Ideally, your treatment will be led by a radiation oncologist who is experienced in treating head and neck cancers. This specialist will work with a treatment team that includes other trained medical professionals. They may also work with social workers, nutritionists, dentists, and rehabilitation therapists.
Chemoradiation
When patients receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy at the same time, it’s called chemoradiation. According to the American Cancer Society, this approach can be more effective than either treatment alone, but it can also be “hard to tolerate, especially for people in poor health.”
Targeted therapy
In targeted drug therapy, doctors prescribe drugs that aim to block the spread of cancer cells. These medications, which are often taken as pills, target or are directed at the proteins that contribute to cancer growth.
Treatment by stages
Stage 0
While a cancer diagnosis at any stage can be alarming, catching cancer at an earlier stage generally means a better outlook for patients. Stage 0 oral cancer, also called “carcinoma in situ,” is only in the lining of the mouth or lips. Often, treatment involves surgery in which doctors remove cancerous tissue along with a small margin of healthy tissue. According to American Cancer Society, “nearly all people with this stage survive a long time without the need for more treatment.” Maintaining[an2] a nutritious diet and quitting tobacco products can also reduce your risk of developing another cancer altogether.
Stage I and II
People who’ve been diagnosed with stage I or II oral cancer may be treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or some combination of these treatments. The type of treatment your doctor recommends will be based on the type of cancer you have. If you have a small cancer, they might believe that surgery is the easiest way to remove it. However, if doctors determine that it’s better for you not to receive surgery due to another medical condition, they might want to try radiation instead.
In any case, you will have a choice in which treatments you receive, and you can make this choice based on conversations with your doctor about the potential side effects.
Stages III and IVA
At this stage, the cancer has grown larger and may have spread to nearby areas of the body. It is common for patients diagnosed at this stage to have surgery and lymph node dissection. After surgery, many are given either radiation or chemoradiation.
Stages IVB and IVC
Stage IVB cancers have already spread into nearby tissues, structures, and maybe lymph nodes. Stage IVC cancers have spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs.
People with stage IVB cancers that cannot be removed by surgery or who are too weak for surgery might be treated with radiation alone. Depending on a person’s overall health, chemoradiation or chemotherapy first followed by radiation might be options. Chemotherapy alone may also be recommended.
Stage IVC cancers are usually treated with chemo, cetuximab, or both. Immunotherapy, alone or with chemo, might be another option. Treatments like radiation can also be used to help relieve cancer symptoms or prevent new problems.
Tobacco and treatment
If you use any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco, it’s very important to quit as soon as possible. Continuing to use them can interfere with your treatment and make you more likely to develop another cancer.
Where to learn more about oral cancer treatment
While it’s always wise to ask your doctors any questions you have about a cancer diagnosis, seeking additional support is often worthwhile.
American Cancer Society has a free helpline offering 24/7 support for people dealing with cancer. You can call 1-800-227-2345 or visit their website to learn more.
Talk to your benefits provider as part of your developing your treatment plan to determine affordability and what’s covered.
[KV1]If noting any of this information as a “fact” suggest citing your source(s) throughout.
maybe a good place to link to the maintaining post [an2] [an2]
