Lip Cancer :
Lip
Cancer :
The most common form of oral cancer is lip
cancer. The occurrence of lip cancer is more common
in climates that receive a great deal of sun. In many cases, damage caused
by the sun can often
turn into lip cancer. If you have lip cancer or feel that you are at risk,
it is imperative that you
visit a doctor. Lip cancer can be treated and cured if discovered early.
Often times lip cancer is
not diagnosed or treated because people ignore the possible symptoms of
lip cancer. Many times
what people may think is nothing more than a cold sore could actually be
lip cancer. With the
increase in skin cancer, there has also been an increase in lip cancer
over the years. Lip cancer
often goes undiagnosed due to people believing it is a cold sore or
herpetic lesion. It is a disease,
however, in which malignant cancer cells are found in the tissues of the
lips.
Cancers of this type are most often found in people over age 45. Lip
cancer is more common in
men than it is in women and is more likely to occur in people who are
light skinned. It is commonly
found in sun bathers or those who work or are exposed to sunlight for
great lengths of time. Pipe
and cigar smokers are also at higher risk for this type of cancer.
Some of the things to look for are:
Lump in lip
Sore that does not heal.
Understanding Cancer
The
word cancer refers to changes in the body's cells that cause them to grow
out of control.
These cells can grow very fast and spread, eventually
crowding out normal cells and damaging
entire systems of the body. Cancer
can occur in almost any cell. It begins with damaged DNA, the "building
block of life" that
controls all cell functions, including when to divide
(reproduce) and when to die. When DNA is
damaged, cells can divide rapidly
or outlive normal cells. Most of the time, the body's immune
system
recognizes these damaged cells and destroys them. However, if this normal
process does
not happen, a tumor can grow.
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