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Oral Lichen Planus
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Herpes simplex is a viral infection that mainly affects the mouth or genital area.is usually associated with infections of the lips, mouth, and face. It is the most common herpes simplex virus and many people develop it in childhood.
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Cesarean section is advisable for mothers with active herpes eruptions at the time of delivery.Newborn infants. Newborn babies have their mother''s antibodies providing them immunity against herpes simplex virus until around six months of age.Child...
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Cancer of the mouth or the oral cavity and the oropharynx is referred to as oral cancer.Oral cavity describes a broad array of parts within the mouth including the lips, lining on the lips and cheeks referred to as buccal mucosa, teeth, tongue, fl...
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Cancer- mouth; Mouth cancer; Head and neck cancer; Squamous cell cancer- mouth.Oral cancer most commonly involves the tissue of the lips or the tongue. It may also occur on the floor of the mouth, cheek lining, gums(gingiva), or roof of the mouth(...
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Detailed information on oral cancer, including symptoms, types of benign and malignant tumors, causes, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on oral cancer, including symptoms, types of benign and malignant tumors, causes, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment
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Oral cancer is cancer that begins in your mouth. It is a relatively common cancer, especially in men. There are very few things scarier than being told you have cancer. You may feel like you're in shock. You may not even want to believe what the doctor has told you. And there are probably so many questions you want to ask but think you can't because you don't know where to start.
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Oral cancer is a malignant growth involving the tongue, floor, palate, interior lining of the cheeks or lips, or other parts of the mouth or pharynx. Most oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas.
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Expert-reviewed information summary about the treatment of lip and oral cavity cancer.
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These are the 2 main types of oral cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma. These account for about 90% of all oral cancers. The squamous cells make up the lining of the mouth, also called the mucosa.
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Oral cancer refers to malignancies in the oral cavity(mouth) and the oropharynx. The oral cavity includes the lips, buccal mucosa(lining of the lips and cheeks), the hard palate, floor of the mouth, teeth, front two-thirds of the tongue, and gingi...
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Detailed information on the link between tobacco and oral cancer, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco and snuff
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Detailed information on the link between tobacco and oral cancer, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco and snuff
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Finding out you have a tumor is scary. You may wonder what effect it will have on your life. As you and your doctors decide on your treatment, some of your concerns will be resolved. And, moving forward, your health care team can help you learn ways to help yourself.
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A biopsy is a small sample of tissue that your doctor takes from a suspicious area. A specialized doctor, called a pathologist, examines this sample under a microscope to see if it is cancerous. Samples may be taken from your mouth and from lymph nodes in your neck. The biopsy may be done in the doctor's office or at the hospital.
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Expert-reviewed information summary about tests used to detect or screen for oral cancer.
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There are several ways to treat oral cancer. These are listed in order of which is done most often.
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Your doctor may recommend radiation therapy for you in any of the following situations.
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Oral cancer acts differently in each person. The way a cancer grows is called its pathophysiology. Cancer has different phases of development. The stage of your cancer is the terminology doctors use to describe the size of the tumor and whether it has spread. Knowing the stage of the cancer helps your healthcare team determine the best treatments for you.
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There is no way to know for sure if you're going to get oral cancer. Certain factors can make you more likely than someone else to get it. These are called risk factors. However, just because you have one or more risk factors doesn't mean you will get oral cancer. In fact, you can have all the risk factors and still not get it. Or you can have no known risk factors and get it.
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Most people with oral cancer have surgery to remove the tumor. You have to be healthy enough to have surgery for it to be a good option for you. If you have heart disease, your surgeon may ask your heart doctor for advice before your surgery. Most tumors in the oral cavity can be removed with surgery. Some types of tumors are not operable, meaning they can't be removed by surgery.
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Many oral cancers are found because a person notices unusual changes in his or her own mouth. You, too, can check your mouth for early signs of oral cancer. All you need to do is open your mouth and look into a mirror. Here's a list of symptoms to check for.
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It's easier to treat oral cancer if it is found early. That's what screening does. Screening tests check for signs of a disease in people who don't have symptoms. For oral cancer, the process is simple. Your doctor or dentist checks your mouth for early signs of cancer during your regular exams.
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Your doctor took a sample of cells from your mouth and perhaps your neck in a process called a biopsy in order to know that you have cancer.
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External beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation given for oral cancer. Radiation is usually directed at the tumor site. You may also receive radiation to your neck. This type of radiation may come from a machine called a linear accelerator.
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Your doctor may suggest chemotherapy to treat oral cancer in any of these situations.
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Researchers always look for new oral cancer treatments. In fact, people who get oral cancer now have more hope for survival than ever before. In this section, we will explain the different treatments available to you and how each one works.
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The best way you can protect yourself from oral cancer is to be aware of what makes you more likely to get it. These are called your risk factors. You can't affect some risk factors, but others you can do something about. Knowing more about the risk factors for oral cancer can help you make healthy choices to help you avoid it.
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Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. This treatment can help cure oral cancer when used in combination with other treatments. That means the tumor disappears and does not return. Chemotherapy may keep large tumors from spreading. It may ease symptoms of advanced cancer when the cancer has spread. And it can improve your quality of life. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy. That means the drugs may kill cancer cells throughout the body. These drugs kill all cells that rapidly divide. That means in addition to killing cancer cells, the drugs may also kill healthy cells.
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Because radiation affects normal cells as well as cancer cells, you will have some side effects from this treatment. Usually, the risk of side effects is far less than the benefit of killing cancer cells. The side effects of radiation relate to the dose of radiation you get and the area of your cancer.
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Radiation treatment is also called radiotherapy. It uses radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation is a local treatment. That means it affects the cancer cells only in the area treated. Radiation may also be used to relieve symptoms caused by tumors, such as difficulty eating or breathing. The radiation you get and how often you get it depends on the size and location of the tumor.
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After surgery, you may have to stay in the hospital for a few days. How long you stay in the hospital depends on how much of your oral cavity was removed. Once you've left the hospital, you'll probably still need some special care as you recover from the surgery.
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The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor from your mouth. When you have surgery for oral cancer, the doctor will try to remove the tumor without harming your appearance or how your mouth functions. In some cases, your doctor may need to rebuild parts of your mouth with reconstructive surgery. This may be done during the surgery to remove the tumor. Or it may be done separately.
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At first, the information you receive about treatment options may seem overwhelming. You may ease the stress by allowing yourself the time to gather as much information as possible about your disease and its treatment and to discuss the issues with your doctors, nurses, and loved ones.
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Brachytherapy is also called internal radiation. Brachytherapy usually comes from an implant placed in or near the cancerous area. The radiation material may be in flexible tubes called catheters or metal rods.
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Because chemotherapy drugs kill all fast-growing cells, they kill healthy cells as well as cancer cells. This means you may have side effects. What those side effects are varies based on which drugs you take. Ask your oncologist and chemotherapy nurse for the details on the side effects that might occur in you. Side effects of chemotherapy are different for everyone.
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Expert-reviewed information summary about factors that may influence the risk of developing cancer of the lip or mouth and about approaches that may help in the prevention of this disease.
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If you have any of the factors that put you at risk for oral cancer, what can you do? The best thing is to try to avoid the risks that you can. There are also several lifestyle changes you can make that may help reduce your risk.
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Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about oral cancer. Q: What is the oral cavity?
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Most people with cancer have chemotherapy in an outpatient part of the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home. However, depending on the drugs you take and your general health, you may need to stay in the hospital during treatment. You may receive these drugs by an intravenous line (IV) or in a pill form, or in a combination of the two.
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If you're having symptoms that could be caused by oral cancer, your doctor will want to check further. Your doctor is likely to ask you questions about your health, perform an exam, and perhaps take a sample of tissue to test.
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Most tumors in the oral cavity can be removed with surgery. If you have a large tumor in your mouth, you may have other treatment before surgery. That treatment may be chemotherapy alone, or in addition to radiation therapy. The goal of these other treatments is to help shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove. The pre-surgery treatments will happen a few weeks before surgery. Receiving another type of treatment before surgery is called neoadjuvant therapy.
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Dealing with your feelings is often easier as you learn more about the cancer and get support from others. Your healthcare team can answer your questions. Talking with friends and family or others who have had cancer can help. Meeting with a social worker, counselor, or member of the clergy may also help you talk about your feelings. Recognizing your feelings can help you cope with them and that in turn may help ease some of your symptoms and side effects. Pain, for instance, gets worse with stress. Many people with cancer go to support groups where they share what they've learned about cancer and its treatments. Here are some ways you may find support.
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Treating your cancer to get the best results is important. But your quality of life also matters. Let your doctor and nurse know if you are experiencing any side effects or discomfort. Make sure you tell your doctor or nurse how these problems affect your day-to-day life. Your healthcare team is there to help you manage your symptoms as well as to treat your cancer.
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A prognosis is a statement about the prospect of surviving and recovering from a disease. It may sound hard to ask, "Can I survive this?” But it's a question most people have when they learn they have oral cancer. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy answer.
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It's likely that you will have physical concerns. Your cancer may cause symptoms. Your treatment may cause side effects.
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When you are being treated for oral cancer, it's likely that you will have side effects from that treatment and, perhaps, also symptoms of the disease itself. For instance, the cancer itself can cause symptoms if the tumor causes pain or makes it difficult to talk, eat, or breathe. The treatments to destroy cancer cells can harm healthy cells at the same time, and that means treatment can cause side effects.
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Doctors need to know what stage your oral cancer is in to help decide what treatment to recommend. The stage is based on the size and extent of your tumor, the number of lymph nodes involved, and whether the cancer has spread. Your oncologist will get this information from performing various tests.
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Some people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of getting cancer or of being cured. It is important to remember that this data shows what happens with large groups of people. Because no two people are alike, this information can't be used to know or predict what will happen to you.
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Thrush(Candidiasis)is a superficial yeast infection of the mouth and throat. Other names for this common condition include oral candidiasis, oropharyngeal candidiasis, pseudomembranous candidiasis, and mycotic stomatitis.
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Thrush is caused by forms of a fungus called Candida. This organism lives in your mouth and is usually kept in check by healthy organisms that also live there.
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Detailed information on thrush, including treatment Thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth and throat of babies. It occurs in 2 to 5 percent of babies and is more common in premature babies. Thrush is usually caused by the organism Candida albicans, a common organism in adults. Babies usually contract the organism from the mother's body during delivery and may develop thrush as early as 2 weeks old. The yeast is common in the environment. It only causes a problem when it grows in warm, moist environments.
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Detailed information on candidiasis and thrush, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on the most common types of newborn complications There are several newborn complications that may occur and require clinical care by a physician. Listed in the directory below are some, for which we have provided a brief overview.
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What can I do to relieve pain from thrush? I have just had radiation treatment.What can I do to relieve pain from thrush? I have just had radiation treatment.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about thrush.
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Oral thrush is a yeast infection that affects the mouth. Babies with thrush are often fussy and may have trouble feeding. Thrush is seldom serious in healthy children and adults.
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Canker sores are small sores or ulcers that appear inside the mouth. They are painful, self-healing, and can recur.Canker sores occur on the inside of the mouth, usually on the inside of the lips, cheeks, and/or soft palate.
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A canker sore is a painful, open sore in the mouth. Canker sores are white or yellow and surrounded by a bright red area.
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Detailed information on aphthous stomatitis, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Are fever blisters and canker sores the same thing?No.
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Canker sores are small sores or ulcers that appear inside the mouth. They are painful and often recur from once every few years to almost continually.
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Canker sores(aphthous ulcers) are small shallow sores or ulcers that appear inside the lips, inside the cheeks, or on the gums. They begin as small, reddish swellings.
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A Harvard Medical School doctor discusses causes of and treatments for canker sores.
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Gingivostomatitis is a viral or bacterial infection of the mouth and gums that leads to swelling and sores.Gingivostomatitis is common, particularly among children. It may occur after infection with the herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1), which al...
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If you have herpes, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have it. Herpes has no cure. But you can control it and learn how to protect yourself and others from outbreaks.
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Detailed information on herpes simplex virus and pregnancy Genital herpes can be spread to the baby during delivery, if a woman has an active infection at that time. Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Herpes infections can cause blisters and ulcers on the mouth or face (oral herpes), or in the genital area (genital herpes). HSV is a life-long infection.
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Herpes is an infection caused by a herpes simplex virus 1 or 2, and it primarily affects the mouth or genital area.There are two strains of herpes simplex viruses. Herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) is usually associated with infections of the lip...
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Certain cancers like Hodgkin''s disease, lymphoma, and T-cell leukemia cause defects in cellular immunity, which is a primary defense mechanism against viral infections. Thus cancer patients, especially those who are undergoing chemotherapy or radi...
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Herpes zoster, also called shingles, and referred to as"zosteer", gets its name from both the Latin and French words for belt or girdle and refers to belt-like skin eruptions that may occur on the trunk of the body. The virus.Shingles, or herpes z...
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Leukoplakia is a precancerous lesion that develops on the tongue or the inside of the cheek as a response to chronic irritation. Occasionally, leukoplakia patches develop on the female external genitalia.Leukoplakia is primarily a disorder of the ...
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