Oral Cancer Facts
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Approximately 34,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year.
- Oral cancer kills about 7,000 Americans every year.
- The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cervical cancer, brain cancer, skin cancer and Hodgkins disease.1
- Risk factors for oral cancer include tobacco use and excessive consumption of alcohol.
- About 8 out of 10 people who develop oral cancer use tobacco.
- About 70 percent of people with oral cancer are heavy drinkers.
- A person who uses alcohol and tobacco is 100 times more likely to develop oral cancer than someone who does not use either substance.
- Signs and symptoms include sores that bleed and don’t heal, swelling of the tongue or throat, red or white spots, or even tiny marks that look similar to canker sores.
- Treatment for oral cancer can be both disfiguring and debilitating.
- Having oral cancer greatly increases the risk of developing other cancers, even after it is cured. Ten to 40 percent of those cured will develop cancer in an area close to the mouth such as the larynx, esophagus, or lungs.
- Early detection is imperative. If detected early, the survival rate of oral cancer increases from 57 percent to more than 90 percent.
Additional oral cancer resources:
Help your kids get excited about taking care of their teeth with the fun games and activities in Marshall Molar’s Kid Corner! Many topics also are available as downloadable flyers in our oral health flyers section.
Source (except where noted): American Cancer Society. (2011, October 13) http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/OralCavityandOropharyngealCancer/DetailedGuide/index
1 The Oral Cancer Foundation, http://www.oralcancer.org/facts/index.htm