With all the talk about cancer rates falling, believe it or not, oral cancer is the one cancer that is actually on the rise. This year alone, the death rates for oral cancer are proving to be higher than any of the other cancers we usually hear about. According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, “Close to 53,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or oropharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 9,750 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 53,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will be alive in 5 years.”
This information is not intended to frighten you, but we think it is incredibly important to be aware. Oral cancer often presents itself on your oral soft tissue with very few or easily-dismissable symptoms. That’s why, your general dentists in Plano, the Drs. Aduddell, encourage all of their patients to keep up with regular cancer screenings of all kinds – including oral cancer. It’s also why he insists on an oral cancer screening at every hygiene visit. If it has been a while since your last cleaning, checkup, or oral cancer screening, please give us a call. Your life could actually depend on it!
