Survey Reveals People May Ignore Oral Cancer Symptoms
A survey carried out by the British Dental Health Foundation has revealed that many people may be putting their health at risk by ignoring the symptoms of oral cancer.
The survey revealed that less than half of people would pursue medical advice or see their dentist within a month if they had an ulcer; 37 per cent said they would see a doctor or dentist within 1-4 months and 7 per cent said that they would take over three weeks before getting their mouth checked.
On a more positive note, more than 70 per cent of people said they would seek advice within four weeks if they had a lump or swelling in their mouth or throat and 69 per cent said they would act quickly if they discovered red or white patches in the mouth.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, the charity behind the national Mouth Cancer Awareness Month campaign, said that it was worrying that so many people would wait more than four weeks to seek help if they had a mouth ulcer. Slow-healing sores are symptomatic of oral cancer and delaying seeing a doctor or dentist allows the disease time to progress; leaving an ulcer more than three weeks could potentially reduce 5-year survival chances by up to 50 per cent.
Dr Carter said that early detection was “absolutely crucial” to improve survival rates for oral cancer; in recent years the number of cases of the disease has increased significantly, yet survival rates have shown very little sign of improvement because most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Symptoms of mouth cancer include red or white patches in the mouth, sores and ulcers that take longer than three weeks to heal and abnormal swelling or lumps in the mouth or throat.
Dr Carter also highlighted the risk factors for oral cancer, which include smoking, drinking alcohol and exposure to the HPV (human papilloma virus), which is transmitted most commonly through oral sex.
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