If you have recently found lesions in your mouth and your dentist did a biopsy only to find out that they were cancerous, you'll want to take action right away. Treating the oral cancer can be very successful if it's caught early and if you take action as quickly as possible. There are a few medical professionals that you want to see right away after you get the news from your family dentist. Here are the professionals that you want to call right away.
Surgeon
Find an oral surgeon experienced with oral cancer to remove the sores in your mouth that are cancerous. Your dentist may have swabbed and biopsied the lesions, but you want an experienced oral cancer surgeon removing the cells to ensure that they can get all of the cells and help you follow up with the best treatment possible. Your dentist may have a cancer specialist they can recommend, or you may have to interview specialists on your own time.
Family Doctor
See your family doctor and let them know that you found cancer in the body to let them know that you want to have a screening for other types of cancer. The doctor may want to do blood work and some imaging scans to evaluate the rest of the body and to see what areas may be at risk. The doctor will need a family history and your information from the dentist to know what areas to screen first.
Oncologist
You don't know if the oral cavity is the only place that you have cancer, and you want to be ready to treat other areas of the body if needed. You also want to make sure that you treat the oral cancer aggressively, so it doesn't spread to any other areas of the body and to make sure that all the cancer in your oral cavity is treated after the surgery. If you have cancer in other areas, you'll be glad you already have an oncologist to help you with treatment.
These are the medical professionals that can help you start to treat the cancer so it doesn't get worse and that can help you find out if you only have cancer in your mouth or if it's in the rest of the body. Make the phone calls and schedule the appointments right away so you don't have to worry about cancer spreading through your body.
Share19 May 2016
When it comes to taking care of yourself, some people only think about what they should avoid. However, making health care a priority is as much about preventing as it is about treating existing conditions. When I learned that I had skin cancer a few years ago, all I could think about was all of the sunblock I never put on. I want you to understand how to prevent problems, so that you can live a better life. Check out these articles to understand how to make health care a priority, and when you should visit with your doctor. It might seem like a small decision, but doing a little reading might make all the difference later.
