The doctor wants to know the stages of your mouth cancer that are shown by the biopsy method in order to provide the best treatment.
The stage depends on the area where it has spread, the size of the tumor and to which parts of your body it has spread. The mouth cancer treatment is done by staging.
Staging by lab tests: In order to check your wind pipe, lung and the throat, the thin lined tube is used. This process is known as endoscopy.
The tube is inserted through your mouth or nose. It is done under local anesthesia to prevent the gagging and discomfort. Some imaging tests are done to know where the cancer has spread.
Dental x-ray: To know whether the cancer has spread to your jaws or not, mouth x-ray is done.
CT scan: The detailed pictures of your body can be shown by linking the x-ray machine to the computer. This is done by giving the injection of dye to the patient. CT scan can show the tumors of the throat, mouth, neck or anywhere in the body.
Chest x-ray: The images of lungs and chest are taken to shown whether the cancer has spread or not.
Mouth cancer treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The combination of these treatments is given in some cases.
To control the symptoms and the pain, treatment can be given at any stage of the disease, in order to relieve the side effects. This kind of treatment is known as palliative care or supportive care, symptom management.
Surgery is a common treatment for oral cancer or the tumors from the throat or mouth can be removed by this method. Some times the lymph nodes in the neck are also removed.
The other tissue present in the neck and mouth can also be removed by surgery. Surgery alone or in combination with radiotherapy can be done in some cases.
In case of large tumors, your jaw or part of the palate or the tongue is removed. This affects to chew, talk or swallow and your face may look different after the surgery. To rebuild the tissues of mouth or bones, plastic surgery is done.
Radiation therapy is a kind of local therapy. It is used to treat small tumors and affect the cells in treated area. It is used to kill the cancer cells and even after the surgery to destroy the remaining cells.
For this purpose high range x-rays are used. Some of the side effects are fatigue, tooth decay, sore throat, dry mouth, infection and jaw stiffness.
Chemotherapy involves the use of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. These are given by injections. The side effects are tooth ache, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and hair loss.
So, you can know about the mouth cancer treatment that involves the chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery to cure cancer.
