Regardless how delighted a person may seem, there is always a little voice in the back of one’s thought that worries about all the devastating risks in life. Sooner or later, that voice can become deafening in regards to issues such as various types of carcinoma. Still, when it comes to a disease such as cancer, many individuals may not discover they have it until the symptoms have been widespread in the body. Fortunately, we can offer patients a chance to feel reassured or catch the signs early on for a more efficient treatment at our office.
Oral cancer is an important disease to understand, as it is one of the top diseases affecting the facial region. Cancer prevention is the steps taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. Do you know that by preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered? This will then decrease the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from beginning, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Oral cancer is cancer of the mouth or throat. In 2017 alone, an estimated 49,670 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer, and more than 9,700 will parish due to the disease. Oral cancer is twice as common in men as in women. All the aspects that increase your chance of developing cancer are called a cancer risk factor; the factors that decrease your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Individual risk factors for cancer can be avoided altogether, but many cannot. For example, smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but in this case, only smoking can be avoided. Among the advice given are regular exercise and a healthy diet. These are protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk, but it does not mean that you will not get cancer.
There are various ways to prevent cancer are being studied, including:
1. Changing lifestyle or eating habits.
2. Avoiding things known to cause cancer.
3. Taking drugs to treat a precancerous condition or to keep cancer from starting.
Avoiding the use of tobacco and not drinking alcohol in excess can prevent most oral cancer. However, one in four people (25%!) diagnosed with oral cancer has no risk factors. It’s important to see your dentist regularly for screenings.
Oral cancer is a problem that can be drastically reduced altogether. This is because oral cancer is a highly preventable disease and also very treatable if caught early.
People should be aware of the precaution they can take to lower the risk of getting the carcinoma. It is too bad if somebody does not heed the advice of experts and end up with the disease that can be fatal. Certain groups of people still chew betel nut and areca, which is well known to be a carcinogenic food. If you chew those, stop! Think twice if you want to expose your oral mucosa to the risk.
For example, they should stay away from the use tobacco in any form. Besides that, limit alcohol so that it doesn’t exceed more than one drink each day if you’re a woman or two drinks each day for males. Another general but sound advice is to stay out of the sun, especially between 10 am and 4 pm when sunlight is strongest. Use the lip balm with SPF 30 or higher. Last but not least, eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
In conclusion, everyone is at risk for oral cancer because, like all cancers, there is a danger of developing this deadly disease no matter the age.