Transcript Mouth Cancers - Druze Victoria

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Mouth Cancers
Dr. Sumaya Aboulhosn
ALMA
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What is mouth cancer and what
does it look like?
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A flat patch of abnormal cell growth (white, red, or both in
color) and looks like a sore.
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Mixed red and white sore is likely to become cancerous
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Bright red velvety patches are pre-cancerous (75-90% are
cancerous), most often found on the floor of the mouth or
under the tongue, or gums behind back teeth.
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White patches can also become cancerous.
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How do you know you have mouth
cancer?
SYMPTOMS
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Ulcer in the mouth or lip that don’t
heal after 2 weeks
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Constant pain or soreness
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Lump on the lip, tongue or cheek
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Difficulty chewing or swallowing
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Unexplained bleeding in mouth
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Ill-fitting dentures
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Numbness in the mouth
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Loose teeth
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Prevalence
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3-4% of all cancers in Australia are oral.
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Causes
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Smoking (Any kind of tobacco)
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Heavy alcohol consumption (>3 drinks/day) increases risk
by 2-3 times.
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Family History (70% more likely)
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Exposure to asbestos (25% higher risk)
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**No evidence red wine prevents cancer in humans!!
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What happens to cancer risk after
a person stops (heavy) drinking
alcohol?
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Stopping alcohol consumption does NOT
immediately reduce cancer risk
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Takes years for risk of cancer to return to
level of non drinkers.
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A population in Utah who abstain from
drinking alcohol or smoking were found to
have 2-3 times less likelihood of having oral
cancer
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Takes approx. ~10 years to return to normal
levels.
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Smoking
Is shisha as harmless as we think?
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It is a misconception that it is safer than cigarettes.
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Many believe that harmful ingredients are filtered through the water.
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Shisha smokers are exposed to sufficient amount of nicotine to cause
addiction.
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WHO – 45 minutes of shisha has nicotine = to 1 packet of cigarettes.
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1 hour of shisha is 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled with a
single cigarette.
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Inhale 90,000ml of smokes compared to 500-600ml in a cigarette.
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It is not the nicotine, but other toxic compounds from the charcoal (e.g.
Carbon Monoxide, tar, and heavy metals) in shisha that cause the mouth
cancer
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Infection risk increases by sharing mouthpiece
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Ex-Smokers
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In 1-4 years of quitting, risk of mouth cancer decreases by
35%.
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After 20 years, the risk of mouth cancer is equal to nonsmokers.
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75% of those with oral cancer in patients over 50 are
tobbaco-related.
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If you smoke and drink, you increase your risk of mouth
cancer by 15 times.
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How dangerous is oral cancer?
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Oral cancer often goes undetected and progresses without pain
or symptoms in early stages.
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Worldwide, 450,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed
each year.
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Death rate is higher because it is discovered at a late stage.
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Higher death rate than that of cervical cancer.
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25% die in 5 years of diagnosis.
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5-10 yrs after first diagnosis, you have 20 times greater risk of
developing second cancer.
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91% of oral cancers can be prevented.
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Diet
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56% of oral cancers are linked to eating too few fruits and
vegetables (UK).
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High intake of fruit – 48% lower risk
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High intake of veggies – 34% lower risk
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Prepare yourself to quit
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If you want to live a longer and healthier life and if you care
about the people you love, there are many ways you can go
about quitting!
You can call QUITLINE on 137848 and/or talk to your GP!
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Thank You!