Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 4: Dr Shubham Jain, HOD and Consultant-Surgical Oncology, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka asked the people to detect mouth cancer by doing self-check.
Dr Jain said that abuse of tobacco (in any form i.e smoked such as cigarette or bidi and smokeless such as gutka or khaini), areca nut (betel quid) or alcohol puts people at risk of developing such cancers. They are risk factors by themselves, but people who consume all of them, are at an even greater risk of developing cancer, he added.
“For self-check, look inside the lips and feel the tissue surfaces around the lips and cheeks or look at the gums from the front and using the small mirror, look at the tongue side through another mirror, to view the inner gums or by lifting your head back, look at the roof of your mouth and feel with your forefinger if any bumps or growths are present. Also, note if any color changes are evident or take a gauze or tissue and gently pull your tongue out slowly. View all surfaces, top, bottom, sides, to see if any color changes or if any red or white lesions are present. Also note if any other abnormal changes are present, or if any wound takes too long to heal or feel for lumps in the neck and lower jaw region, on both sides”, Dr Jain informed.
“Oral cancer is usually first treated with surgery. Depending upon the extent and spread of cancer, removal of the affected parts of the mouth may be necessary. It may at times be necessary to perform reconstructive surgery, to compensate for the cosmetic or functional deficit caused because of cancer. In advanced stages, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy may be recommended after surgery, depending on the burden of disease at the beginning of treatment”, Dr Jain stated.
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