oral cancer

1. BehSc 202 Educational Theories and Health Promotion
Assessment 1: Educational Wiki
Topic: Oral Cancer
Lianet Herrada and Brittany Fidler

2. EDUCATIONAL GOALS
❏ To create awareness to healthcare professionals about oral cancer
❏ To educate healthcare professionals about early cancer detection and
regular cancer screenings
http://dentalartimages.com/oral-cancer-awareness-month/

3. OBJECTIVES
1
Know about oral
cancer
● What is oral cancer?
● Who is a highest risk
for oral cancer?
● Signs & symptoms of
oral cancer?
● Oral cancer Treatment
2
Interprofessional
collaboration and
oral cancer
● How to work together
to increase cancer
awareness among the
population
● What health care
professionals are
involved with the oral
cancer patient?
3
Early cancer
detection and oral
cancer screenings
● How to do an oral
cancer screening ?
● What types of test can
determine if the
diagnosis is cancer?
● Ways to educate client
about oral cancer

4. WHAT IS ORAL CANCER?
➔ Oral cancer refers to cancer in
any part of the mouth. This
includes the lips, gums, tongue,
inside the lining of one's cheek,
the roof of the mouth, and the
floor of the mouth. Mouth cancer
starts from a cancerous tumor
which is created by abnormal
cells that uncontrollably
replicate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_cancer

5. WHO IS A HIGHEST RISK FOR ORAL CANCER?
Several risk factors may increase the chance of oral
cancer:
❏ Tobacco use and alcohol consumption are risk
factors and when used together, the risk is even
greater.
❏ The use of betel quid or paan, a substance (areca
palm nuts, betel leaf, sometimes tobacco leaf)
chewed for stimulatory effects, has also been
identified as a risk factor.
❏ Excessive sun exposure is a risk factor for lip
cancers.
❏ African American men are one of the groups at
highest risk for oral cancer.
❏ Recent studies show that infection with certain
types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are linked to
oropharyngeal (throat) cancer.
https://dentistry.uic.edu/patients/oral-cancer-experts

6. SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF ORAL
CANCER

7. ORAL CANCER TREATMENTS
As with most cancers, there are three main
treatments options for oral cancer:
● Surgery ( can be used alone or in combination with
radiation )
● Radiation- IMRT, RADIOSENSITIZERS,
RADIOPROTECTORS ( can be used alone or in
combination with surgery )
● Chemotherapy
http://www.intelligentdental.com/2012/02/29/oral-cancer-treatment-options-and-complications/

8. HOW TO WORK TOGETHER TO INCREASE ORAL CANCER AWARENESS AMONG THE POPULATION ?
Interprofessional collaboration plays an important role in increasing
oral cancer awareness among the population. Interprofessional
collaborations, as defined by the CIHC (Canadian Interprofessional
Health Collaborative) “is the process of developing and maintaining
effective interprofessional working relationships with learners,
practitioners, patients/clients/ families and communities to enable
optimal health outcomes. But how can we work together to increase
oral cancer awareness among the population if we do not learn
together?
http://today.uconn.edu/2014/03/interprofessional-hea
lth-care/
➢ Working and learning together the connection between oral
health, systemic disease, and overall health and wellness can
increase the oral cancer awareness among the population.
➢ Evidence suggests that interprofessional education enables
effective collaborative practice, which in turn optimizes health
care services, strengthens medical systems, and improves
health outcomes.
➢ Encouraging patients to come to regular dental check ups, re
assuring that dental care is as important as medical care.
➢ Making adequate referrals to the indicated health care
professionals for further diagnosis
➢ Implementing oral cancer screenings as a part of the medical
check ups.
➢ Educating patients about oral cancer and common signs and
symptoms.http://today.uconn.edu/2014/03/interprofessional-health-care/

9. HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS INVOLVED IN THE ORAL CANCEROUS PATIENT
Patients that have been diagnosed with cancer usually meet with many different health professionals. The following are
some of the health care professionals that works with the cancerous patients at one stage or another.
● Anesthesiologist
● Case manager ( often a nurse or a cancer nurse
specialist )
● Dermatologist
● Dietitian
● Discharge coordinator ( nurse or social worker)
● Dosimetrist
● Endocrinologist
● Enterostomal therapist
● Medical oncologist
● Nutritionist
● Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
● Otolaryngologist
● Pathologist
● Plastic surgeon
● Psychologist
● Radiation oncologist
● Speech therapist http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/our-services/centres-clinics/abbotsford-centre/cancer-care-team

10. HOW TO DO AN ORAL CANCER SCREENING ?
❖ ORAL CANCER SCREENING: an
examination performed by a dentist
or doctor to look for signs of cancer or
precancerous conditions in your
mouth.
❖ GOALS: to identify mouth cancer
early, when there is a greater chance
for a cure.
❖ Can be performed by the dentist,
family doctor, dental hygienist and
the client.
❖ Additional test may be needed if there
is any oral lesion that might be
cancerous as oral cancer screenings
cannot detect if a lesion is cancerous
or noncancerous
http://www.altmandental.com/oral-cancer-screenings/

11. ORAL CANCER TEST AVAILABLE
Screening
At you dental exam exam, your dentist or dental hygienist will look inside of your mouth to check for red or white patches or any sores or
abnormalities. Using gloved hands, your clinician may feel the tissues in your mouth to check for hard nodules, or irregularities.
Additional tests included in the oral cancer screening
Some dentists use special tests in addition to the oral exam to screen for oral cancer.
● They may instruct you to rinse your mouth with a special blue dye before an exam. Abnormal cells could possibly show up more
significantly with the dye and appear blue.
● They may shine a light in your mouth during the exam. The light can make healthy tissue appear dark and abnormal tissue
appear white.
● If an abnormal lesion is seen the only way to be sure of a diagnosis is to have a doctor or specialist perform a biopsy for
laboratory testing of cancer cells.

12. The stages of Oral Cancer
If cancer is diagnosed the doctor or specialist will need to do further testing to evaluate if the cancer
has spread, this will help to know the stage of the cancer. Stages are represented with roman
numerals from I (lower stage) to IV (hIgher stage).
Imaging- tests performed can include:
Radiographs, computerized tomography scans
(CT), magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),
positron emission tomography scans (PET) ,
and more.
Endoscopy- A small camera is passed through
the nose and down the throat to examine the
area for further signs of cancer. This procedure
may cause minimal discomfort.
https://youtu.be/GKesUBTkCXc
http://www.aboutcancer.com/throat_anatomy_pet.htm

13. WAYS TO EDUCATE CLIENT ABOUT ORAL CANCER
According to the ODHA, clients should be educated about oral
cancer to increase their awareness of the disease. Clients
should be educated on :
1. How to perform oral cancer screenings at home
2. Common areas for oral cancer
3. Being able to identify a healthy versus a cancerous
lesion
4. Signs and symptoms
5. Causes and risk factors
6. Oral cancer detection
7. Oral cancer prevention
Clients should be provided with handouts, websites, phone
number to Oral cancer education centers where they can find
the support they need and where they can increase their
knowledge. A well educated client can pass their education to
the population, which also helps increasing the oral cancer
awareness.
http://www.mouthcancer.org/downloads/

14. ORAL CANCER FACTS
https://www.pinterest.com/ddentalcare/oral-cancer/
https://twitter.com/drolmos
http://slideplayer.com/slide/6007639/

15. REFERENCES
1.Retrived from https://dentistry.uic.edu/patients/oral-cancer-experts/
2.Retrieved from http://www.allcancersigns.org/symptoms/oral-cancer-symptoms-early-signs-of-mouth-cancer/
3. Retreived from http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/oral-cancer-screening/basics/definition/prc-20110761/
4.Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mouth-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/treatment/txc-20157256
5. Retrived from https://odha.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Oral-Cancer-Screening-14-1-final.pdf/