Cancer of the tongue: signs and symptoms. Oncologist's consultation

Oncological diseases affect a significant part of the population. You can suddenly find yourself or your loved ones cancer of the skin, uterus, mammary glands, blood and even cancer under the tongue. The last people know the least, and therefore it is considered one of the most dangerous. But no disease comes just like that. There are reasons for everything, it is important to pay attention to the symptomatology at the initial stage. To protect yourself, you need to know about cancer all.

What is it?

Under the cancer of the tongue we mean a tumor of a malignant nature, consisting mainly of elements of a flat epithelium. The first body warnings about the presence of the disease are ignored by many, and therefore only at later stages can diagnose cancer of the tongue. Signs and symptoms mostly affect the oral cavity.

The disease affects men more than women. Folk remedies help to relieve manifestation, but can not completely cure. Treatment is appointed by an oncologist, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient and the stage of development of the tumor.

In the risk zone

The disease never arises just like that, nor is the cancer of the tongue. Signs and symptoms are important to study in order to protect yourself from problems. Most often in the risk zone are those who exposes their body to the following factors:

• Smoking;
• Regular excessive use of alcoholic beverages;
• Chewing various narcotic mixtures;
• Poor oral care;
• Chemical and thermal burns;
• Damage to the language of a mechanical nature.

Unfortunately, many of these items for many have long become harmful habits that torment them throughout their lives. It's pretty reckless to tell myself that if the cancer of the tongue has not developed during the five years of smoking, then it will never be. Neoplasm can begin to develop even 20 years after smoking or abuse of hot drinks.

Precancerous diseases

There are a number of diseases that are called precancerous. These are those that begin to develop and progress, and eventually lead to the development of the initial stage of the cancer of the tongue.

These include:

• Chronic ulcer;
• Bowen's disease;
• glossitis;
• erosion;
• Leukoplakia.

If they are not cured in time, the cancer of the language will be difficult to avoid. It is necessary to regularly undergo medical examinations, otherwise the district polyclinic will be replaced by an oncological hospital.

Symptomatics

To all ended most favorably, you need to know how to recognize the cancer of the tongue. Signs and symptoms that were noticed in time, in the long run, can save a life, because the treatment started in time is the key to successful completion of the disease.

With ulcerative form, people first notice the presence of sores. They appear suddenly either in the tongue or in the mouth and do not heal at all. Gradually, they can increase in size, causing itching, pain, which has a cutting character and burning.

In the very first stages, painful sensations appear in the mouth. They can be located on the gums, cheeks, throat. Most of the cancerous seals are located in the side, so the pain is more likely to occur there. The mucous membrane of the surrounding tissues also becomes densified. There may be whitish spots. Sometimes squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue is not detected until metastases appear.

Violation of the sensitivity of the tongue is also a symptom of the disease. Together with the bleeding of the tumor, this starts to worry only in the late stages.

Symptom can include the following factors:

• Pain in the temple, ear, mouth, nape. They have a migratory character.
• Irritable throat, pain when swallowing.
• Unpleasant persistent smell from the mouth.
• Loss of teeth. It occurs when the metastases affect the jaw.
• Swelling of the face and neck.
• Excessive salivation caused by irritation of the oral cavity.
• Sensation of foreign body in pharynx.

In case of signs of cancer, I need to fight to consult a doctor and not try to cure it with folk remedies. Self-medication only worsens the course of the disease.

Is it easy to detect?

Of all forms of cancer, it is easier to detect cancer of the tongue. Symptoms and symptoms are localized in one of the most tender areas, where even minor changes immediately become noticeable.

However, if there are unpleasant sensations in your mouth, you should not immediately diagnose yourself. For this, consultation of the oncologist is necessary. A qualified doctor can even visually notice the presence of pathological changes without much difficulty. Affected area in its appearance is significantly different from healthy. These may be seborrheic or pink seals, a dense red bump on the touch.

Stages of

The frequency of occurrence in the first place is the defeat of the lateral surface of the middle third of the tongue, on the second - the cancer of the root of the tongue, less often one can find the tumor of the back of the tongue. All these species have a unified system for determining the stages, namely:

• 1 stage. During this period, a small tumor appears, usually it does not exceed 2 centimeters. Mostly it is located in the mucosa and submucosa. The spread of metastases and defeat of lymph nodes does not yet occur.
• 2 stage. The tumor grows, it is already more than 2 cm, but it does not exceed 4. Any symptoms of the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes or other organs can be detected only by an oncologist's advice. As a rule, metastases are found in the area of the chin, under the jaw.
• 3 stage. The tumor begins to spread further, capturing most of the language. It can gradually move to the bottom of the tongue, so that the whole language becomes poorly mobile.
• 4 th stage. The condensation on the tongue already affects most of it, begins to shift to the bones. Metastases can be both mobile and immobile. Localize to one area.

Depending on the stage, the oncologist surgeon decides which treatment should be prescribed.

Forms of metastasis

Metastasis is divided into three forms.

• The first one is ulcerative. When she manifests, they bleed and have uneven edges.
• The second - papillary, has a seal, located on the surface of the tongue. In addition, it can be observed along the edges of the tongue, on the back, the bottom surface. The slowest form of tumor growth.
• The third - infiltrated, characterized by the appearance of seals in the place where the cancer develops, with the slightest touch, painful sensations are felt. The seal does not have any defined boundaries, it protrudes like a bump on the surface of the tongue. Ulcers are completely absent.

High-quality education

Seldom, but nevertheless happens, that the neoplasm in language does not carry malignant character. In this case it can be:

• Hemangioma. The disease can affect the cheeks, palate, lips, gums. Education has a blue-purple or bluish color and increases with tension or during exercise. If you press on such a tumor, it begins to turn pale. Treatment can be radial, surgical or combined.
• The language struma. It occurs as a result of embryogenesis disorders. The tumor appears on the root of the tongue and reaches 1 cm in size. It increases gradually and grows very slowly. Has a smooth surface. Treatment is surgical.
• Dermoids. Such formations are localized in the zone of the chin, at the bottom of the mouth. Surgical removal easily removes the disease.
• Retention cysts. Can form in the tongue and cheeks in the form of bubbles with thick contents.

Diagnostics

Successful treatment can provide timely diagnostics. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the tongue mucosa, the oral cavity. If you find long-healing ulcers, spots of white or red should immediately go to the doctor. Diagnosis of the disease can be already at the initial examination.

To get a complete picture of the course of the disease and the spread of education, it is necessary to pass a cytological study. He is engaged in oncological hospital and oncologists. Use and methods of diagnosis, such as magnetic resonance imaging, biopsy, computed tomography.

Treatment

Treatment can take place in two directions: treatment of metastases or surgical, radiation exposure to malignant education. At the very first stages, radiation exposure to cancer of the tongue is successfully used. The prognosis is successful - 60-85% of cases end in complete cure. If you combine surgical and radiotherapy, then you can cure 94% of patients.

Surgical treatment scares the patients, and it's not the operation, but the fact that the quality of life of the operated patient deteriorates significantly. After resection of the cheek part, oral cavity, palate, jaw, tongue, there are problems with food intake, speech activity. However, in some cases, this is simply necessary, since the affected area can grow and stop this process only by removing the problem zone.

In addition to resection, the method of Banha, Krajl or excision of the neck tissue is used. In an inoperable case, or if there are multiple metastases and the patient refuses surgery, chemotherapy is used. She does not guarantee a recovery. Successful treatment of the disease can prolong the life of the patient for five years or more, but it all depends on the stage of the disease, growth, the presence of metastases, the overall health and age of the patient.

Prevention

It is more reasonable to prevent cancer of the tongue. Treatment in this case is not needed. Prevention includes, in the first place, a complete cessation of smoking. This applies to cigarettes, pipes, cigars, hookahs, narcotic and intoxicating agents. It should be remembered that in addition to the cancer of the tongue, it can provoke lung cancer and many other diseases. After that you need to pay attention to the use of alcohol and try to reduce it to a minimum.

The fact that men are more likely than women to develop cancer of the tongue is associated with the fact that it is men who smoke more and consume alcoholic beverages. But recently there has been a trend of development of women's smoking and alcoholism, because women start to outstrip men in this deplorable statistics.

To prevent the development of the disease, you can observe the hygiene of the mouth.

It is necessary to brush your teeth in time, in the morning, before bed and preferably after each meal. It is important not to forget to visit the dentist on time, because rotten and broken teeth are the cause of trauma to the delicate surface of the tongue and oral mucosa.