17/11/2025
November is Mouth Cancer awareness month.
The latest figures (2024) show that 10,825 people in England were diagnosed with mouth cancer in a year. This has increased by 38% in the last decade and by 133% compared with 20 years ago.
What is mouth cancer?
Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer, includes various kinds of tumors affecting the lips, salivary glands, tongue, gums, palate and inside of cheeks.
Symptoms can include:
- Ulcers that do not heal in a week
- Pain or discomfort in the mouth
- Lumps and swellings of no obvious cause in the mouth or neck
- Bleeding from the mouth or throat
- Red or white patches inside the mouth
- Difficulty or pain with swallowing, chewing or moving the jaw
- Persistent coughing or feel like something is ‘stuck’ in the throat
- Unexplained weight loss
Mouth Cancer Foundation provides a video of how to do a 2 minute self-check test at home which could save your life! The link is below for this video and any further information is below.
https://www.mouthcancerfoundation.org/self-examination/
