- Hi, I'm Jessica Geiger.
I'm a Medical Oncologist
at the Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic.
(gentle music)
Oral cancer refers to cancers
that occur anywhere within the oral cavity.
So any of the structures there,
including the lips,
the inner part of the lip, or the wet part of the lips,
the tongue, the roof of the mouth,
the floor of the mouth,
the inside of the cheek,
and the gums around the teeth,
all comprise the oral cavity.
First and foremost, we address oral cancer with surgery.
This is surgery with the goal
to remove all of the cancer that we can see
either by scans or by the naked eye,
depending on the extent of surgery,
we often have to use reconstructive surgery as well.
Following all surgery,
depending on how large the cancer was
or how extensive the cancer was,
a course of radiation may be recommended.
And sometimes we also recommend adding chemotherapy
to radiation following surgery for oral cancer.
The treatment for oral cancer depends on several factors:
how large the cancer is or what the stage of the cancer is,
or has it spread into adjacent parts of the mouth,
or has it even spread to lymph nodes within the neck,
that determines the type and the extent of surgery
and reconstruction that may be involved.
It is not until we see all of the disease
and all of the characteristics under the microscope,
whether we know if a patient would benefit
also from chemotherapy added to radiation.
Another factor is the patient's overall health.
If the patient, you know, depending on age
and overall how healthy they are,
other medical conditions may influence the option of surgery
or whatever other treatments may be recommended.
The invasiveness of a surgery, again,
depends on how large the tumor is
or how extensive the cancer is,
and it can range anywhere from a simple excision
of a very small lesion in the tongue
or the floor of the mouth
to very large surgeries removing the entirety of the tongue,
part of the mandable or the jaw.
So reconstruction with either plastic surgeons
or special head and neck surgeons who have extra training
within these reconstructive techniques,
they use often other tissues
from other parts of the patient's body,
including skin or muscles or vessels or even bone
from other areas
in order to rebuild these critical structures
within the mouth to allow for eating
and chewing and swallowing to occur again
after the patient has recovered.
Post treatment recovery really depends
on what the treatment involves.
Patients who have undergone extensive surgeries
for oral cancer may have feeding tubes
to get nutrition and hydration
through the course of their recovery
or if they need radiation
or further treatment beyond a surgery,
speech and language pathology is very integral
in demonstrating mechanisms and exercises
to regain the muscles and the function
to be able to swallow again.
I would encourage every patient
who notices a lesion in the mouth or a lump in the neck
or a new growth anywhere in the oral cavity,
if nothing goes away within a week or two
to seek medical attention.
Part of prevention or diagnosing of oral cancer,
it's important to follow with a dentist regularly
and not just for a good dental cleaning
but also to ask the dentist to take a good look
and exam throughout the entire oral cavity
to make sure that there are no lesions
or spots that are suspicious for either cancer itself
or even a precancerous lesion.