Top 10 tips to keep oral cancer at bay

Here are 10 handy tips to beat oral cancer from our expert Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi.

20th March is World Oral Health Day.

'Quit smoking!', 'Don't chew tobacco!', 'Ban gutka!', 'Keep away from second hand smoke!', 'Smoking causes cancer' -- all this advice usually tends to fall on deaf ears. Even gory ads portraying people dying of cancer solely because they chewed tobacco or smoked, has not seemed to make a dent in the number of people smoking or indulging in smokeless tobacco. So where are all the anti-tobacco and anti-cancer crusaders falling short? Well, it might just be their approach. In a new way to approach the problem, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, renowned Head and Neck surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, and an fervent crusader against tobacco tells you about 10 ways you can prevent the disease. After all prevention is better than cure -- especially in the case of cancer.

Today oral cancer is becoming an increasingly common disease that affects people from all walks of life, age groups and genders. Due to the stress of modern life, it is imperative for all of us to pay heed to our health by adopting certain lifestyle changes. In fact, the problem of oral cancer is so bad thatIndia is known as the oral cancer capital of the world with 86 percent of the world's cases recorded in the country. This is probably also due to the fact that India is renowned for its gutka and tobacco product consumption.

It is a serious cause of concern that the number of cancer patients amongst the youth is on the rise and many of them could be victims of cancer due to their consumption of oral forms of tobacco.

Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer.

There is a misconception that cancer is an unavoidable disease. The general tendency among most people is to blame fate or bad luck for the disease. The fact is that cancer like most other diseases are caused by a variety of choices that we make throughout our lives. Smoking, drinking, eating junk food and a sedentary lifestyle as well as many more factors play a part in causing cancer. Here are some changes that you can make to your lifestyle to avoid the dreaded disease:

1. Quit Tobacco Chewing: It is a proven fact that tobacco whether chewed raw or in the form of gutka is the single biggest cause of oral cancer in India.

2. Quit Smoking: Smoking in any form whether cigarettes, bidi, pipes or hukka is well known to cause oral cancer. Read more about the 25 things that happen in your body when you smoke.

3. QuitBetel nut and Pan masala: Betel nut or supari is an independent risk factor for oral cancer and it is the main ingredients of pan masala.

4. Quit Alcohol: Alcohol is an established risk factor for oral cancer. The carcinogenicity increases many folds when consumed along with tobacco.

5. Maintain Good Oral Hygiene: Brush and floss your teeth daily as bad oral hygiene is a known risk factor for oral cancer.

6. Regular Self Oral examination: Examine your oral cavity in good light once every month to look for non-healing ulcers, areas of bleeding, abnormal patches or any swellings, as these may be signs of cancer and early detection means better cure.

7. Regular Dental Checkup: The dentist may be the first person to detect oral cancer, also inform him about any sharp tooth causing repeated trauma.

8. Avoid Increased Sun Exposure: UV rays are a known risk factor for cancer especially of the lower lip. Try and limit sun exposure and ensure that you wear sun screen whilst going out.

9. Don't ignore any ulcer / bleeding / pain: If you spot any ulcers or bleeding that do not respond to treatment for 2 -3 months, please go get it checked out as it could be something more serious.

10. Proper Diet and a Healthy Lifestyle: A diet rich in vegetables, fruits and nuts with regular exercise is known to protect from oral cancer. Most of us have sedentary lifestyles and we must try and balance this by doing some form of regular exercise.

You may also like to read:

• Giving up the tobacco habit a cancer survivor's tale
• Oral cancer: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
• Oral cancer: Playing with fire
• Are cancer survivors 'disabled'? (Exclusive interview)
• Gutka ban just on paper!
• What is HPV?

For more articles, check out our oral cancer and war on cancer section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.