This month is Mouth Cancer Action Month, a charity campaign aimed to raise awareness of mouth cancer and to improve the lives through early detection, prevention as well as treatment. As a Clinical Negligence lawyer I come across cases of delayed diagnosis of different types of cancer, including mouth cancer. We see our clients in pain. We would rather not see our clients and their families suffer hence why I want to lend my support to the Mouth Cancer Awareness campaign.
By raising awareness, early diagnosis and timely treatment can make a huge difference and save lives not to mention much suffering.
About 8,000 people in the UK a year are diagnosed with mouth cancer and worldwide the figure is said to be around 300,000 worldwide. While this may not cause alarm we only have to speak to a cancer sufferer or their family to get an insight on how their lives are affected. Since the mouth helps us communicate imagine if we lose the ability to do that very important task which we take for granted?
The NHS has a helpful guide which can be found in this link for anyone out there who is concerned about themselves or a loved one – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mouth-cancer/
This may include, persistent mouth ulcers, persistent lumps in the mouth or throat, difficulty swallowing, unexplained weight loss, difficulty moving the jaw, bleeding or numbness, teeth related issues such as a tooth becoming loose etc.
The medical advice is if the symptoms persist for three weeks it is advisable to consult a doctor. One of the key advice is to ensure regular dental check-ups and consult a doctor if in doubt, as often it may take time to notice the cancer. Early detection will help with a better overall outcome.
This includes smoking, alcohol abuse, poor oral hygiene, a virus. However, as we know cancer can happen to anyone so being aware and then taking action is important.
Treatment varies from radiotherapy, chemotherapy and cancer drugs but the sooner treatment is sought as with all conditions, the chances of a better outcome improves.
This cancer can spread to the surrounding tissues and lymphatic systems and has the potential to become life threatening so early detection is vital to fight the infection or spread of cancerous tumour.
Further information can be found on the NHS website or through charities such as The Throat cancer foundation at https://www.throatcancerfoundation.org/mouth-cancer-foundation/. There is a helpful guides on the Cancer Research U.K. website along with information as to treatment options at https://about-cancer.cancerresearchuk.org
With innovation in medicine and better health care patients are better placed but the key has to be to seek medical attention earlier if the symptoms cause concern and are persistent. We hope talking about this issue helps to raise more awareness.
We specialise in medical negligence claims if you wish to have an informal chat with a member of our team for any concerns you may have with regards to your medical treatment please do not hesitate to get in touch.
For further information, please call us on 0330 107 0107 or email clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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