{"id":701,"date":"2016-03-10T15:04:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T21:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/?p=701"},"modified":"2025-05-28T21:53:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:53:43","slug":"self-checking-for-oral-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/self-checking-for-oral-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Self Checking for Oral Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"When you think about cancer, one area that\u2019s often overlooked is oral cancer. Oral cancer affects more than 48,000 Americans each year,<\/a>\"checking<\/a> with roughly one person dying every 24 hours. The high death rate from oral cancer, with a little over half only surviving 5 years, is largely due to the fact the cancer isn\u2019t diagnosed until the late stages. While oral cancer isn\u2019t difficult to diagnose, it often goes unnoticed due to not having oral screenings performed regularly. However, even without an oral screening, you can start checking for oral cancer at home to learn early signs. Piney Point Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is here to help you learn how to conduct an oral cancer check at home.\r\n\r\n

Understanding Oral Cancer<\/h2>\r\nMisconception leaves many to believe that oral cancer only occurs in the mouth, which isn\u2019t so. Oral cancers are grouped with cancers known as head and neck cancers, which makes up about 85 percent of this category; however, brain cancer is in a separate category. The death rate for oral cancer is high due to the fact it isn\u2019t often diagnosed until it has reached its late stages. In the early stages, oral cancer may produce no signs or symptoms until it has spread to another location, such as the lymph nodes of the neck. As a result, those with oral cancer have a 20 times higher risk for developing a second cancer.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s essential you learn to spot the signs of oral cancer early. We have easy and effective tips to begin monitoring your health for possible signs of cancer.\r\n

Checking for Oral Cancer<\/h2>\r\nOften, oral cancer doesn\u2019t produce visible growths or adhesions, but it\u2019s not impossible. It\u2019s important you check the tongue and floor of your mouth for any abnormalities because 60 percent of oral cancers begin in these two areas. In addition, check the cheeks, lips, roof of the mouth and back of the throat for anything that looks suspicious.\r\n\r\nWhen you\u2019re using an at-home oral cancer check, don\u2019t stay focused on the mouth and lips. You will also need to check your neck and where the jaws connect for any signs of abnormalities. You\u2019ll want to start with your fingers placed behind your ears, then slowly move down the neck. As you slide down the neck, check the side neck muscles and underneath the chin. There is a method known as the Gullet Grab \u2018n Swallow check, which involved placing your fingers on the side of your throat and swallowing. Finally, don\u2019t forget to check the clavicle for any abnormalities.\r\n\r\nWhen checking for cancer, you\u2019ll want to look and feel for lumps or bumps in the area. You will need to feel deeply to feel a node or lump. Should you feel something that just doesn\u2019t seem right, please call our office at (832) 924-3799 to schedule an appointment.\r\n\r\nPiney Point Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery <\/a>wants to ensure you stay healthy. We encourage you to check for oral cancer often to increase the likeliness it\u2019s diagnosed early. The earlier it\u2019s diagnosed, the more promising the outcome.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you think about cancer, one area that\u2019s often overlooked is oral cancer. Oral cancer affects more than 48,000 Americans each year, with roughly one person dying every 24 hours. The high death rate from oral cancer, with a little over half only surviving 5 years, is largely due to the fact the cancer isn\u2019t diagnosed until the late stages. While oral cancer isn\u2019t difficult to diagnose, it often goes unnoticed due to not having oral screenings performed regularly. However, even without an oral screening, you can start checking for oral cancer at home to learn early signs. Piney Point Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is here to help you learn how to conduct an oral […] (Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-oral-cancer-treatment","tag-oral-cancer-check"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions\/1587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}