Posts Tagged ‘Oral cancer screening’

Leeds goes to war with Oral Cancer

Monday, February 18th, 2013

One of the things that anyone dreads hearing is the diagnosis of oral cancer; it means you have to prepare yourself for war and be ready to fight it head on. Though even today in Leeds, there is no decisive reason for it happening there are some things that you could have been aware of in the beginning. Your diet is important as it helps to maintain a strong immune system, but you will really be enticing the disease in if you smoke and drink heavily and suffer from excess stress. The first signs are generally anything that has been constantly nagging away at you for sometime; sore throats, ulcers, jaw aches and constant coughing, and these need to be checked out immediately because one of the keys to beating the disease is to catch it early. If the diagnosis is what you’ve been dreading, then the battle begins in earnest. Your lifestyle has to change overnight and once you have been treated, you can’t just rest on your laurels, because you need to change the way you live. Throw everything you can at the disease and make sure you have the support from friends and family; the disease is beatable and statistics are good, but you have got to want this more than anything else in your life.

Horrible Oral Cancer in Central Leeds

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

The number of people that have been diagnosed with oral cancer is on the increase in central Leeds which rather makes the disease difficult to isolate and cure altogether. A lot of the reasons only seem to be conjecture as it can strike one person and not another, even if they live identical lives. Yet, the way some of us live our lives has been considered to be conducive to the disease; our dietary habits, stress, poor oral hygiene, smoking and drinking- all of which are considered to be contributory to the problem, and if we tend to be care-free and lazy, we’d probably overlook issues in the mouth until it was too late- which is the most important element in fighting the disease- early diagnosis. We should know when something feels or tastes ‘off’ in the mouth and should get any problem looked at immediately, things like repetitive sore throats and ulcers, neck and ear aches, sores on the lips. It is so easy to get checked out, all you need to do is get down to the dentists or the doctors and after a few tests, a diagnosis can be made. If your worst fears are realised, then deciding on how advanced the problem is, you will have either of three types of surgery, radio, chemotherapy or physical surgery in order to remove the problem. It won’t be easy and the recovery period will be a delicate time- things will have to change, possibly the way you live your whole life, but a lot more people are coming through this illness smiling and with a lot of care and support, oral cancer can be beaten

Oral Cancer Screenings can Help Save Lives in Central Leeds

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Oral cancer is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, many people are still unaware of the symptoms and causes of oral cancer, and, as a result, most cases are not diagnosed until at an advanced stage. This is the stage at which treatment is less likely to be successful. In the UK, the number of cases of oral cancer has doubled in the last decade alone, and more young people are being diagnosed with the disease than ever before.

What causes oral cancer?

There are various risk factors that have been identified for oral cancer; smoking and drinking are major risk factors for the disease, with people who do so 40 times more likely to develop the disease than other people. Recently, research studies have indicated that the HPV (human papilloma virus) is also a risk factor. This may be associated with the increase in cases among young people, as HPV can be spread through sexual intercourse. There is also evidence to suggest that a poor diet may increase the risk of oral cancer.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of oral cancer include red or white patches in the mouth, abnormal lumps or swellings in the throat or mouth, and sores that take a long time to heal. It is important to see your dentist or GP as soon as possible if you notice these symptoms, as early treatment can increase the chance of survival by up to 90 percent.

Oral cancer screening in Central Leeds

Patients’ health is our top priority and we offer oral cancer screening checks to detect early warning signs of oral cancer. Early diagnosis is key to the fight against oral cancer and can make the difference between life and death. The screening lasts just a few minutes and there is absolutely no pain involved.

Confronting Oral Cancer in Leeds

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

It is a life-changing event if you are diagnosed with oral cancer, and you will more than likely have many unanswered questions and worries. This is where the battle really begins and you need to rally yourself for the fight and get as much support from family and friends as you can.

The greatest chance you have is if you can catch the problem in its infancy and the general signs can be a repetitive sore throat, sores or constant lumps and ulcers. You know when something is awry in your body and you’d be straight down the doctors if you felt something wrong. Similarly, you should do the same in concerns to your oral health and get to the dentists if something doesn’t feel right in your mouth.

Through a series of tests, the dentist will be able to ascertain if there is an issue, and if so, check you straight in for treatment. Early diagnosis has proved effective, for there is a high recovery rate in Leeds from oral cancer. But the fight doesn’t just stop when you are given the all-clear. You must then sit down and analyse what got you into this pickle in the first place and that means taking a long hard look at your lifestyle leading up to the diagnosis. Did you smoke, eat badly or drink excessively, because those habits will all need to be stopped to ensure that the cancer doesn’t come back.

There are a lot of support groups in place that can help you through this hard time in your life and your dentist can help to point you in the right direction.

What are the Symptoms and Treatments for Oral Cancer in the City of Leeds

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in the UK today and although oral cancer isn’t one of the most well-known types, it is one of the most easily recognised and diagnosed. Oral cancer normally occurs on the tongue or in the floor of the mouth, underneath the tongue. From here, the cancer is able to spread throughout the oral cavity, the lips and even begin metastasis (the process by which cancer spreads around the body) to the neck via the lymphatic system.

Oral cancer can be recognised by patches on the inside of your mouth or lips that are either white, red or a mixture of the both. Dentists are professionally trained to recognise the symptoms of skin cancer so it is essential you visit your local practice in the City of Leeds regularly to ensure an early diagnosis of any problems. Other symptoms that you should keep an eye out for are: sores that won’t heal, earache, bleeding in the mouth, lose teeth or a lump in your neck.

The people who are at the most risk from developing oral cancer are smokers, individuals who drink alcohol on a regular basis and who eat high levels of processed foods, these all contain carcinogens (cancer causing substances) that can trigger the formation of an oral tumour.

Treatment for oral cancer will only begin once a biopsy of your tumour has been taken and the stage at which it is at has been determined. If possible, the bulk of the tumour will be removed from the oral cavity, at which stage any addition therapies may begin. Therapies include radiotherapy, chemotherapy and anti-cancer drugs. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, these tumours will also be treated and hopefully the spread will be halted.

The most important message in the diagnosis of oral cancer is to keep regular appointments with your dentist, or to visit them if you are worried about any symptoms you may have. As with any cancer, early diagnosis is the most crucial step in curing the disease.

The Picture of Oral Cancer in Central Leeds

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

The chances of getting through oral cancer are greatly enhanced if it is identified as quickly as possible. The signs to look out for are things like constant jaw, neck and ear aches, repetitive ulcers and sore throats, general lumps in the mouth and cold sores on the lips. The causes however are not always that easy to identify but the disease has been linked to having a poor immune system and diet, over exposure to sunlight and probably the most obvious causes have been linked to smoking and drinking. If these symptoms persist, you should get yourself to your dentist in centralLeedsand express your concerns. A series of tests will be done and if they come back as positive, you will undergo a course of treatments: depending at what stage the cancer is, you will either have actual physical surgery or radio/chemo therapy. Post treatment recovery can be as harsh as the moment you were first diagnosed. But there are some good people out there that will nurse you and comfort you with therapy to get you through. This is also the time you will need you family and friends for support. One creature comfort to draw from if you have been diagnosed is that the percentage of people recovering from the disease is massively on the increase.