Mouth

Every 3 hours someone will die from Mouth Cancer. Mouth Cancer refers to cancer that arises in any part of the mouth, tongue, lips, throat, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx, sinus, and other sites located in the head and neck area. In its very early stages, Mouth Cancer can be almost invisible making it easy to ignore. In the UK, there were 7,067 cases in 2003. Mouth cancers have a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma and there were 2,718 deaths in 2005. The mortality rate from mouth cancer is just over 50% due to late detection. The side effects of treatments create difficulties with speech, swallowing, a constant dry mouth, loss of taste, loss of teeth, and facial disfigurement. 30,000 people in the UK are currently living in the shadow of this debilitating disease. These are the shocking facts from the Mouth Cancer Foundation who are determined to raise awareness for the cancer about which little is known.