North Yorkshire patient urges others to be wary of mouth cancer signs following diagnosis

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A woman from Malton, North Yorkshire, has urged others to be wary of symptoms of mouth cancer after she was diagnosed with the disease following a routine dental check-up.

Martine Clark, 60, asked her dentist to check the back of her throat after suffering from a persistent sore throat in 2019.

Her dentist encouraged her to visit her doctor and get her symptoms checked out following a routine dental check, which flagged an unusual lesion on the right tonsil.

Martine was diagnosed with cancer and had her tonsils removed shortly after. She also underwent a course of chemotherapy.

Martine said that seeing her dentist could have saved her life and encouraged others to keep an eye out for symptoms of mouth cancer. Mouth cancer has become much more prevalent in the UK in the last ten years, but most people are still unaware of the symptoms.

Common signs include red or white patches in the mouth, abnormal swelling and lumps, difficulty swallowing, persistent hoarseness and a sore throat and slow-healing mouth ulcers.

Dr Catharine Tannahill, Martine’s dentist, urged people to look out for changes in the mouth and throat and encouraged anyone who does notice abnormal symptoms to contact their dentist or GP immediately. Oral cancer is treatable if it is caught early.

The latest statistics from the Oral Health Foundation suggest that over 8,700 new cases of mouth cancer were diagnosed in the UK last year. There were more than 2,700 deaths.

Dentists perform oral cancer screening during routine check-ups, but with regular services not widely available at the moment, they are encouraging patients to be vigilant and to get in touch if they have any concerns about slow-healing sores, swelling, lumps, hoarseness and difficulty swallowing.

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