What Is The Survival Rate For Lip Cancer?

Are you worried about that sore on your lip which just refuses to heal? Well, not all sores are cancers!

When cells in our body grow and multiply out of normal proportions, we call it cancer. They grow far too many in number and start inhibiting normal cell growth. Lip cancer is one of the many such conditions.

Lip cancer falls under the category of oral cancers, and eventually comes under head and neck cancers. It develops in the lips and can spread to other parts of the oral cavity and beyond, if timely intervention is not carried out.

As we are discussing about the survival rate for lip cancer in this article, it is important for us to first have an overlook of what the symptoms of this condition are. Usually, the symptoms are not specific and can be very much similar to any other health condition of the mouth. The commonest of the symptoms is an ulcer or a sore on the lip, most of the times on lower lip but can also be on upper lip as well. This ulcer or sore will not heal, or after healing once, may reappear far too frequently on the same spot again and again. This ulcer can be bleeding at times and may or may not be painful. This ulcer can develop on the outer side of the lips or on the inner fold.

To determine the survival rate for lip cancer, it is also important to pay attention to the duration of the onset of the condition. Hence, if you see any kind of disturbing symptoms in case of your lips or mouth, please do not delay a visit to the dentist or your physician also, the worsening or improvement of the condition plays a key role in deciding the survival rate so also, the reason for the condition. But that said the good news is that the lip cancer is almost one hundred percent curable, if diagnosed and treated at the right time. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you consult your dentist regularly, because the dentist is usually among the first ones to diagnose your condition, if any.

Now let’s see what the course of treatment for lip cancer is. Like any other cancer, there can be several modes of action for lip cancer as well. Treatment usually is according to the stage of the cancer. Depending upon the stage, there may be a need for chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery; or a combination of any of these.

Your consultant oncologist will be the best person to guide you on this.

While it is important to get diagnosed and treated early, it is equally important to do the post treatment follow-ups fairly regularly. As the treatment of lip cancer may involve removal of the affected area in part or in full, it may have a certain impact on the post-operative lifestyle of the person. For e.g., a surgery related to the lips may hamper the speech of the concerned person, which needs to be corrected with the help of a speech therapist and likewise. So, when we say that the survival rate is almost always 100 percent, we give an equal emphasis on the post-operative follow ups.

On a short note, we can conclude that, if you see any kind of disturbing signs on your lips or in mouth, without any further delay you must consult the physician or a dentist and there is a great chance of survival from lip cancer, if the diagnosis is made fairly early and the treatment is started well on time. But that said, any type of cancer is dangerous, even though the survival rate may be good. And cancers spread to other parts of the body without giving much warning. Therefore, never ever delay a visit to the specialist, in case you find anything worrisome.

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What Is The Survival Rate For Lip Cancer?