Oral Cancer 101 What You Need to Know About Prevention and Testing
So Why Do Humans Kiss? Birds and Bees Don’t Do It
Cancer doesn’t discriminate, and oral cancer is no different. In fact,
many well-known people throughout history, including U.S. presidents Grover Cleveland and Ulysses S. Grant, Sigmund Freud, Babe Ruth, Lana Turner, and Rod Stewart, have suffered from oral cancer. Overall, 53,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with oral cancer each year, according to research by the Oral Cancer Foundation. You don’t have to wait for a diagnosis to learn about the details, prevention efforts, and tests for this debilitating disease. Prepare yourself by checking out the points below. Details Oral cancer can appear as an abnormality on your lips, tongue, cheeks, mouth, sinuses, or throat. This life-threatening disease can create swelling, bruises, lesions, speckled patches, and face sores. These symptoms can additionally lead to difficulty speaking, swallowing, and ear pain. While cancer can affect anyone, there are some demographics that have a higher chance of getting an oral cancer diagnosis. Men are twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease as women, with men over 50 being the most vulnerable. Prevention Your habits play a critical role in preventing cancer. Tobacco and alcohol use increase your chances of developing oral cancer, but your diet and exposure to the sun can also put you at risk. According to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, 1 in 4 people diagnosed with oral cancer are not tobacco users and only drink occasionally. Abstaining from excessive alcohol and tobacco usage is a great way to lower your risk, but also keeping your sun exposure and diet in check gives you the best chance of preventing oral cancer altogether. Screenings The best way to monitor your oral cancer risk is by attending regular dental appointments, where screenings are the norm. Dental experts are trained to screen for oral cancer, and they will often feel around the neck and throat for concerning signs. Some experts also use a VELscope exam, which uses fluorescent lighting to highlight any abnormalities in the mouth. Many of these tests are noninvasive and can be performed quickly at a dental clinic. If dental experts find evidence of oral cancer during an exam, they can refer patients to clinics for further testing.
Giving your sweetie a smooch or kissing Grandma’s cheek as you leave is a common practice few of us think twice about. But philematology, the study of kissing, is devoted to discovering why humans kiss. The search for an answer has produced a few likely theories but no concrete answers. Most philematologists agree that humans continue to kiss because the thousands of nerve endings on our tongues and mouths make it feel good. Yet one of the more popular theories of why we kiss stems all the way back to our cave ancestors. It’s believed that mothers chewed food and transferred the mush into their toothless babies’ mouths, pressing their own lips to their children’s in the process. Philematologists theorize that kissing evolved from this maternal act into a learned social greeting and romantic gesture because it was taught to impressionable babies. The theory is backed up by the fact that there are some tribes that don’t kiss at all because they were never taught to do so. But there’s some evidence to suggest our desire to kiss comes from a primal instinct. Monkeys commonly show affection and greet one another through kissing, and bonobos — the most affectionate primates — kiss all the time. Other animals nuzzle their noses together as a form of what scientists believe is kissing. Additionally, researchers have discovered that women often select mates based on their perception of a man’s ability to parent and produce healthy kids. The scent of the man’s pheromones tells the woman whether he would be an ideal mate. If so, the woman is attracted because humans have a basic desire to continue as a species. Philematologists have concluded that women use kissing to decide if they find the other person attractive. This Mother’s Day, when you pucker up to give Mom a peck on the cheek, maybe don’t share all the history about food mashing and monkey kisses beforehand. She will thank you for it.
You can learn more about oral cancer, prevention, treatments, and screenings online at OralCancerFoundation.org.
2 www.bigsmiles.com
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