What to Know About Oral Cancer Screening

Preparing Yourself for an Oropharyngeal Cancer Screening

Oral cancer, also called mouth cancer, is found in the mouth of patients with the disease. This can include areas like the surface of the tongue, the lips, or the base or roof of the mouth. When oral cancer is detected early on, it is often a very treatable disease. This is why many individuals who feel they are at risk for oral or other types of cancer opt to have a preventive screen done at some point in their lives.

What is an Oropharyngeal Cancer Screening?

A screening for oral cancer takes place before any symptoms are present – this is often done to help find cancerous cells during the disease’s early stages in hopes for a faster and more complete recovery. Often times, when the symptoms of cancer start, the disease has spread, thereby making it harder to treat. Researchers are in the process of trying to understand why patients contract oral cancer and what makes someone likely to contract it in order to make sure the proper individuals are being screened.

When medical professionals suggest a screening be done for oral cancer, it does not mean they believe their patient has the disease. It may be a possibility, however, which is why they wish to catch the presence of cancerous cells early on. Should patients have the screening for oral cancer completed and the test results be abnormal, the doctor then recommends more diagnostic testing be done in order to determine whether or not cancerous cells are present.

Risks of Having an Oral Cancer Screening

As with any type of medical screening, there are risks associated with having testing done. Some of the risks of having an oropharyngeal cancer screening conducted include:

• Finding the presence of oral cancer
• Having false negative results
• Having false positive results
• Having a misdiagnosis

It is important to note that not all cancers show symptoms or grow to become life-threatening, but when cancerous cells are found during a cancer screening, medical professionals have an obligation to treat the disease. Finding non-problematic cancers in patients are often referred to as an “over diagnosis,” and it is not currently known if treating these non-threatening cancers will help prolong the patient’s life in any way. Conversely, some treatments like surgery or chemo can have negative effects.

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