/Adjusted%202021%20Originals/DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png?width=95&height=99&name=DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png "DR Care Solutions | Your Care, Your Support, Your Way | Aged Care & Disability Care Consulting Services")
An alarming 34% increase in this cancer type in Australia in the last decade, with more than 5,100 Aussies getting diagnosed each year!
© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions
You read that right, more than 5,100 Australian's are getting diagnosed with head and neck cancers each year![1]
For Jarrod, Lora, Olivia and Helen, it was a persistent ulcer on the tongue.
Mandy had bleeding gums.
Clarissa experienced numbness in the jaw.
Mackenzie felt a lump growing on the roof of her mouth and Veronica a lump on her lower jaw.
All of these Australians had something in common – a diagnosis of mouth cancer.
July - Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month
Each has courageously shared their personal story[2] of diagnosis and treatment to raise awareness of head and neck cancer. July is Head and Neck Cancer Month in Australia and Thursday 27 July is World Head and Neck Cancer Day[3].
Major risk factors
The diagnosis came as a shock to them as the major risk factors of smoking (causing 59% of mouth cancers) and excessive alcohol consumption (31% of mouth cancers) played no (or little) role in their lives. Jarrod and Helen are triathletes.
Another cause is the human papilloma virus (HPV), a viral infection that is sexually transmitted (directly related to 70% of throat cancers). Remember to sign your 12- to 13- year-old up to the Australian Government’s HPV Immunisation Program[4] run through schools.
However, medical researchers cannot explain the current sudden rise in the incidence of tongue cancer in young, healthy, non-smoking Australian women[5].
Despite this concern, there is no formal head and neck cancer screening program in Australia.
It is up to the individual to go see their GP or dentist if they experience symptoms.
Symptoms
The symptoms[6] may include:
-
A lump or sore that does not heal
-
A red or white patch in the mouth
-
Swelling, bleeding, pain or numbness in the face or within the mouth
-
Trouble speaking or a hoarse voice
-
Difficulty chewing or swallowing; or a persistent sore throat
-
Trouble breathing
-
Blood in your saliva or phlegm
-
Ear pain that doesn't go away or a blocked ear that doesn't clear
-
Jaw pain that doesn't go away
-
Problems with dentures
-
Loose teeth
-
A blocked nose
-
Frequent nose bleeds
-
A bulging or watery eye.
Your next dental appointment
Dentists are often the first to detect symptoms through routine visual examinations and use of fluorescence, with the later involving the use of the handheld device, VELscope[7].
Through a non-invasive 2-minute exam covered by most health funds, VELscope emits specific wavelengths of blue spectrum light into your mouth to stimulate natural tissue fluorescence which can be viewed directly through the VELscope. Research[8] has shown that the VELscope can help find abnormal tissue unnoticed by the naked eye.
If found early, the five-year relative survival rate of mouth cancer is over 75%[9] and about 50%[10] if found late. Sadly, diagnosis is often made too late with the localised lesion having spread to the lymph nodes in the neck or metastasised to a more distant part of the body such as the lung.
Be vigilant
Continue your routine dental visits to enable early diagnosis and visit your GP if you notice any of the symptoms. Within the cancer community it is acknowledged that the treatment for this type of cancer is the most distressing of all – so be vigilant.
While the VELscope marketing promotes dental practitioners as ‘super-heroes’ who save lives, by initiating your own oral cancel health check-up, the life you save may be your own.
Need help caring for a loved one? Please feel free to call me, Danielle Robertson, at any time for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.
Resources
[1] Australian Government Cancer Australia: Head and Neck Cancer
[2] For their personal stories: Head & Neck Cancer Australia - Personal Stories
[3] Head & Neck Cancer Australia: World Head and Neck Cancer Day
[4] Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care: HPV (Human Papillomavirus) Vaccine
[5] Head & Neck Cancer Australia: What Is Head and Neck Cancer?
[6] Head & Neck Cancer Australia: Signs and Symptoms
[7] VELscope: Patient Information
[8] National Library of Medicine: VELscope Guided Oral Cancer Screening - A Ray of Hope in Early Oral Cancer Diagnosis
[9] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Oral Cancer Relative Survival Rate
[10] James Cook University Australia: Oral Cancer Warning
