Could this be.... cancer?

Most of the time, I love my job. I actually don't think of it as a job I like it that much. But, there are times when I wish I could just crawl in a hole and leave the dirty work to someone else. No time is that more true than when I find a suspecious lesion in someone's mouth that could be the dreaded C word.

See, my family has a long history with cancer. I lost my father to it at the young age of 48, as well as both of my grandfathers. I hate cancer... almost as much as telling someone they might have it.

With oral cancer, there are a couple of things that should be known, primarily what factors contribute to it, where is it generall found, and how is it detected. Oral cancer is especially deadly due to the fact that it is often found after it has metasticized to other organs, including the lungs, brain, and lymph nodes.

So, what causes it? I can't answer that for you, but there are several habits that increase your odds of getting it. First is tobacco use. Smoking cigarrettes and chewing tobacco are known to significantly increase your odds. The nicotine content and long contact time are a deadly combination. Quit smoking (or never start) and your odds of never getting it go way up. Also, alcohol abuse and HPV (yes, the STD) can cause oral cancer.

In terms of where it is found, the most common area is the side of the tongue towards the back. But, that is certainly not the only area. Other common places include the soft palate, insides of the cheeks and lips. These areas should always be checked by your dentist and general physician.

Several newer tests to find oral cancer are the Velscope and ViziLite, which use a special light to detect tissue changes. These tests certainly do have their place, but should not be the sole means of detecting oral cancer. I always perform and visual check first and then sometimes I will follow that with one of the two "light tests". These tests only show that something is different, but does not tell me if it is a bacterial lesion, fungal infection, traumatic lesion, or cancer. If I still see something that concerns me, I will send my patients to an oral surgeon for a biopsy. A biopsy is a small tissue sample which is then run under a microscope to view the cells. This is the only way to truly tell if there is cancer or not.

As I said, I really do love my job. But if I never saw another patient who I thought had oral cancer again I'd be pretty damn happy.