BHUBANESWAR: More than five people die of oral cancer every hour in the country. But if detected and treated early, the disease, one of the top three types of cancer, offers opportunity for long-term survival. What’s even better is that the treatment of oral cancer is affordable, said experts at the Institute of Dental Sciences (IDS) under SOA University.
Dean of IDS, Prof Neeta Mohanty said the institute has been conducting free screening of oral cancer twice a year. “People facing complications or having confusion over the symptoms can visit the camps and get screened,” she said. A six-day oral cancer screening week will be conducted by the institute from Monday till April 10. Prof Mohanty said said oral cancer relates to any malignant neoplasm found on the lip, floor of the mouth, cheek lining, palate or tongue.
“Addiction to alcohol, use of tobacco products like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, chewing of betel nut and human papilloma virus were the most common risk factors for oral cancer with 20 out of every one lakh population in the country getting affected by the disease,” she observed.Since treatment of oral cancer has emerged as a significant public health concern as the disease was mostly diagnosed at later stages resulting in low treatment outcome and high cost, Prof Mohanty said regular oral cancer examination by oral health professionals remains the best method of detecting the disease in its early stage.
The IDS has also been conducting free screening for oral cancer in patients who have been using tobacco products for a long time or have related signs or symptoms at the Rural Health Centre at Mendhasala on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar and the Urban Health Centre at Baramunda.