Contents:
- Medical Video: How To Check For Mouth For Cancer
- A glimpse of info about tongue cancer
- Symptoms of tongue cancer that you need to watch out for
Medical Video: How To Check For Mouth For Cancer
Thrush on the tongue can occur at any time and is usually easy to cure. However, be careful. Not all wounds on the tongue are canker sores, you know! If the wound appears suddenly without a cause and is difficult to heal, it could be that the canker sores are an early symptom of tongue cancer. Of course you cannot ignore this disease.
Come on, find out more about the following symptoms of tongue cancer.
A glimpse of info about tongue cancer
Tongue cancer is one type of oral cancer. The reason is abnormal cell growth around the tongue. When cancer cells attack the tongue, a wound or tumor will appear on the tongue. If cancer cells grow in the front area of the tongue, the condition is called tongue cancer. Meanwhile, if it occurs in the area under the tongue is called throat cancer or oropharyngeal cancer.
The most common type of tongue cancer is squamous cell carcinoma or scaly cancer cells. In addition to the tongue, this type of cancer can also appear on the surface of the skin, the lining of the respiratory organs, and the digestive organs.
Health experts do not know the exact cause of tongue cancer. However, some people with certain conditions and habits can increase the risk of tongue cancer, such as:
- Accustomed to smoking
- Drink alcoholic drinks often
- Lack of eating vegetables and fruit, tend to prefer preserved foods
- Poor oral and dental health
- Have had cancer before
- Have a father, mother, or other family member who has cancer.
Symptoms of tongue cancer that you need to watch out for
Just like other cancers, tongue cancer can result in death if left untreated. Treatment must also be intensive until cancer cells are completely destroyed from the body. For that, precautions are better done and of course you also have to be aware of some of the symptoms.
In the early stages, people affected by tongue cancer usually experience no symptoms until the cancer cells grow and cause sores on the tongue. Unfortunately, the wound on the tongue is often misinterpreted as canker sores. Well, the difference is that wounds on the tongue due to tongue cancer don't heal even after being treated.
Some other symptoms of tongue cancer that may occur include:
- Red or white spots (leukoplakia) appear on the tongue that do not heal
- There is a wound on the tongue that is difficult to heal
- Pain when chewing
- Mouth feels numb
- The throat hurts
- The tongue continues to swell and bleed without a clear cause
- The jaw feels stiff and sometimes painful
Symptoms of tongue cancer are almost the same as oral cancer. However, with other symptoms such as hoarseness, thickened mouth layer, pain spreads to the neck and ear area, and easily dislodged teeth. In addition, oral cancer not only attacks the tongue, but also other areas of the mouth, such as the gums and inner cheeks.
It's good to immediately check with your doctor if your canker sores don't heal more than 3 weeks. However, if the pain around your mouth really makes you uncomfortable, you don't need to wait longer to go to the doctor.
