Simple quick mouth check could save your life

The Oral Health Improvement team wearing blue lips to mark Mouth Cancer Action Month

Last year over 3600* people lost their lives to mouth cancer. An early diagnosis boosts survival chances from 50 to 90 per cent, yet only 17 per cent of people are aware of the major signs and symptoms of this disease.

That’s why Bradford District Care Trust’s Community Dental Service is sharing information on how to check your mouth ahead of November’s Mouth Cancer Awareness Month.

Clinical Director Nadiya Suida explains: “It takes less than a minute to check your mouth and neck, but most people don’t know how to do it or how important it is.  We’d encourage everyone to get into the habit of a quick check because mouth cancer causes more deaths in the UK each year than road traffic accidents, or cervical and testicular cancer combined”.

Potential signs of mouth cancer include a mouth ulcer that does not heal within three weeks, red or white patches in the mouth and unusual lumps or swellings in the mouth or head and neck area. This self check poster and short video from the national Oral Health Foundation, which runs Mouth Cancer Awareness Month, explains how to carry out a check of your mouth and neck.

Nadiya says: “A regular self-check will mean you’re aware of any changes occurring inside      your mouth. And if you see something different, make an appointment with your dentist or GP.”

Stuart Higgs from Keighley is a mouth cancer survivor. At a routine dental check-up seven years ago, his dentist spotted a white lesion and Stuart was referred to St Lukes hospital in Bradford for a biopsy and treatment. Having been given the all-clear after his treatment, he started carrying out a regular self-check and was glad he did.

“Before my dentist spotted the lesion, I wasn’t aware of mouth cancer or the importance of checking my mouth. Afterwards I was, so I checked regularly and I’m glad I did because this year I spotted a white patch under my tongue.

“I contacted my GP again immediately and was sent to Airedale hospital. It was mouth cancer and I had to have half of my tongue removed. That has taken away the cancer, but I have no feeling in my tongue, so I can’t have hot food or drinks.”

Following his mouth cancer journey Stuart says: “I’d recommend checking yourself regularly and always look under your tongue for any white patches. If you’re concerned about anything in your mouth, don’t leave it, get it checked.  The treatment isn’t easy to go through but please do it. I’m glad I did because I’m still here now and spending time with my grandchildren, I’m lucky”.

Statistics from the Mouth Cancer Foundation show that mouth cancer cases have doubled in the last 20 years, with over 10,800 people diagnosed last year. It is twice as common in men than women. For more information contact Bradford District Care Trust’s Oral Health Improvement Team on 01274 259084/259085 or by emailing ohp@bdct.nhs.uk.