Oral Cancer (cont.)

You may want more information for yourself, your family, and your doctor. The following National Cancer Institute (NCI) services are available to help you.

Telephone

Cancer Information Service (CIS) Provides accurate, up-to-date information on cancer to patients and their families, health professionals, and the general public. Information Specialists translate the latest scientific information into understandable language and respond in English, Spanish, or on TTY equipment.

Toll-free: 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
TTY: 1-800-332-8615

Internet

http://cancer.gov
The NCI's Cancer.gov™ Web site provides information from numerous NCI sources. It offers current information on cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, genetics, supportive care, and ongoing clinical trials. It also provides information about NCI's research programs and funding opportunities, cancer statistics, and the Institute itself. Cancer.gov provides live, online assistance through LiveHelp. Cancer.gov is at http://cancer.gov on the Internet.

http://www.smokefree.gov
The Tobacco Control Research Branch of NCI, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society, created a smoking cessation Web site. It offers online quitting advice through NCI's LiveHelp service. It also provides national and state telephone quitline numbers and access to printed materials about quitting tobacco. It is located on the Internet at http://www.smokefree.gov.

Print materials

You can order National Cancer Institute (NCI) publications by writing to the address below:

Publications Ordering Service
National Cancer Institute
Suite 3036A
6116 Executive Boulevard, MSC 8322
Bethesda, MD 20892-8322

Some NCI publications can be viewed, downloaded, and ordered from http://cancer.gov/publications on the Internet. If you are in the United States or one of its territories, you may order these and other NCI booklets by calling the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research information resources

The National Oral Health Information Clearinghouse

This Clearinghouse is a service of the Federal Government's National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). NIDCR's mission is to promote the general health of the American people by improving their oral, dental, and craniofacial health. Through the conduct and support of research and the training of researchers, the NIDCR aims to promote health, prevent diseases and conditions, and develop new diagnostics and therapies.

NIDCR directs the health awareness campaign, Oral Health, Cancer Care, and You: Fitting the Pieces Together. The campaign addresses the importance of preventing and managing the oral side effects of cancer treatments. It is a partnership among NIDCR, NCI, National Institute of Nursing Research, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NIDCR can supply free information about oral cancer and taking care of your mouth during cancer treatment. Booklets are available in English and Spanish:

Chemotherapy and Your Mouth
Head and Neck Radiation Treatment and Your Mouth
Quimioterapia y la Boca (Chemotherapy and Your Mouth)
Su Boca y el Tratamiento de Radiación en la Cabeza y el Cuello (Head and Neck Radiation and Your Mouth)

Materials may be obtained by contacting the Clearinghouse:
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
National Oral Health Information Clearinghouse
Attn: OCCT
1 NOHIC Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3500
Tel: 301-402-7364

Materials are also available online at http://www.nidcr.nih.gov under "health information."

• Oral cancer is caused by tobacco (smoking and chewing) and alcohol use.
• A sore in the mouth that does not heal can be a warning sign of oral cancer.
• A biopsy is the only to know whether as abnormal area in the oral cavity is cancer.
• Treatment of oral cancer depends on the location, size, type, and extent of the tumor, as well as the age and health of the patient.
• Surgery to remove the tumor in the mouth is the usual treatment for patients with oral cancer.

SOURCE: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov

Last Editorial Review: 12/10/2009

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/oral_cancer/article.htm