Oral cancer affects your lips, tongue, gums, cheeks or the floor of your mouth. It’s treated mainly with surgery, and most cases caught early have a good outcome.
Signs Worth Getting Checked
Should You Be Worried?
An ordinary mouth ulcer heals in one to two weeks on its own. Past three weeks, especially with bleeding or a neck lump, get it checked that week. This doesn’t mean it’s cancer. It means you’ll know for certain.
What Raises Your Risk
Tobacco use in any form, betel nut or paan use, heavy alcohol use, and a history of mouth patches that were never evaluated.
How It’s Diagnosed
Examination of the mouth and neck for anything abnormal.
Biopsy to confirm whether the area is cancerous.
Imaging (CT or MRI) to check size and lymph node involvement.
How It’s Treated
- Smaller tumours: a single, well-contained procedure and short recovery.
- Larger tumours: reconstruction planned into the same operation, not scheduled separately.
- Lymph nodes removed if there’s a risk of spread.
- Robotic-assisted surgery for suitable cases (SSI Mantra platform).
- Radiation or chemotherapy added in some cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
A mouth ulcer is present for the past three weeks, or with bleeding or a hard edge, get it evaluated.
No. It can occur without tobacco or betel nut use. Any persistent symptom is worth checking.
Not necessarily. Surgery is planned to preserve as much function and appearance as possible.
Only in some cases, depending on stage.
Book Your Oral Cancer Consultation in Pune
If something in your mouth hasn’t resolved on its own, find out what it is. Dr. Vidita Powle Danait provides expert oral cancer diagnosis and surgical treatment in Pune.