6 months ago
ROCKVILLE, Maryland (WUSA) -- If your dentist can detect oral cancer early, it's almost 90-percent curable.
It's this reason people like Kathleen Sample say they've recently started worrying more about ways to prevent oral cancer.
"I always had routine appointments, but never considered oral cancer. I did smoke for probably about 30 years. I'm concerned about what it it has done to my mouth and my tongue," explains Sample.
Patients like Kathleen are why Dr. Victor Siegel says it's time for the face of oral cancer to change.
"It use to be that the typical oral cancer patient was a male over the age of 40, heavy smoker, heavy drinker. Nowadays that's changing a bit because we're starting to see a new population," says Dr. Siegel.
In recent years, more women are being diagnosed, and a strong link has been established between oral cancer and not just smoking and drinking, but HPV, the human papillomavirus.
"What makes oral cancer so difficult at times are the lesions, especially in the early stages, they're so very hard to discover," explains Dr. Siegel.
In Kathleen's case, Dr. Siegel uses what's called the Vizilite exam to make sure he doesn't miss any suspicious spots.
Dr. Siegel says after the the office lights are dimmed, a mild acidic mouth wash is given to the patient to rinse our their mouth.
The Vizilite tool is actually a chemical luminescent glow stick that emits a blue or white light depending upon different surrounding tissues.
"Lesions will show up as a white lesion area and that will alert the examiner to area of concern," says Dr. Siegel.
On this day, during Kathleen's examination, Dr. Siegel did find a small glowing lesion under Kathleen's lip. To be on the safe side Kathleen will go on to have a biopsy and consultation with an oral surgeon.
Kathleen says, "I really didn't expect the doctor to find anything. I thought I would be fine, so yes I am a little surprised. Hopefully, it's nothing, but I'm so glad that it was found."
Oral Cancer Signs and Symptoms:
-White or red patch of tissue in the mouth
-Small ulcer which can resemble the common canker sore
-Tissue or canker sore does not heal in 14 days
Oral Cancer Available Screenings:
-Important to realize: There are no routine screenings for oral cancer
-Dentist or doctor can examine for lesions with the naked eye
-If a lesion is detected further examination should be conducted
