In a surprisingly frank interview with the Guardian, the actor explained the background to a condition that was thought to be nearly fatal when diagnosed three years ago. Asked whether he now regretted his years of smoking and drinking, usually thought to be the cause of the disease,
The actor, now 68, was diagnosed with cancer in August 2010, following many months of oral discomfort. But a series of specialists missed the tumor and instead prescribed antibiotics. Douglas then went to see a friend's doctor in
"I will always remember the look on his face,"
Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with stage four cancer, which is often terminal, and embarked on an intensive eight-week course of chemotherapy and radiation. He refused to use a feeding tube, despite his palate being burnt on account of the treatment, and so lost 20kg (45lb) on a liquids-only diet. "That's a rough ride. That can really take it out of you," he told the Guardian. "Plus the amount of chemo I was getting, it zaps all the good stuff too. It made me very weak."
The treatment worked and
HPV, the sexually transmitted virus best known as a cause of cervical and anal cancer and genital warts, is thought to be responsible for an increasing proportion of oral cancers.
Mahesh Kumar, a consultant head and neck surgeon in
"It has been established beyond reasonable doubt that the HPV type 16 is the causative agent in oropharyngeal cancer," said Kumar, who also testified to increased recovery rates among this kind of cancer sufferer. This would help explain why
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Our dental office offers the OraRisk® HPV Salivary Diagnostic Test and VELscope® Oral Cancer Screening
OraRisk® HPV Salivary Diagnostic Test
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common virus groups in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control, at least 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV and there are approximately 6 million new cases
each year.
Oral HPV is a manifestation of the HPV virus in the mouth, and is primarily found in the oropharyngeal complex. Specific types of oral HPV are now considered to be separate and serious risk factor for developing oral cancers. Early detection and identification of the presence or absence of oral HPV is important, as early oral HPV infections do not typically cause any clinical signs or symptoms.
The OraRisk® HPV test is a non-invasive, easy-to-use screening tool to identify the type(s) of oral HPV, a mucosal viral infection that could potentially lead to oral cancer. OraRisk® HPV enables the clinician to establish increased risk for oral cancer and determine appropriate referral and monitoring conditions.
VELscope® Oral Cancer Screening
Oral cancer is often deemed the “forgotten disease,” because it kills more people than testicular cancer, cervical cancer and cancer of the brain each year and receives little publicity in return. Each year, over 30,000 Americans contract oral cancer, and only 57% of these people will live for more than five years without treatment.
Many people believe that if they abstain from tobacco and alcohol use, oral cancer will not affect them. Tobacco and alcohol use does contribute to oral cancer; however, 25% of those diagnosed abstain from both substances.
The best way to stay protected from oral cancer is to get annual oral cancer screenings. Most dentists perform an oral cancer exam during a regular dental checkup. The FDA-approved VELscope® offers dentists another examination tool to help detect oral cancer in its earliest stages. The VELscope® is a blue excitation lamp, which highlights precancerous and cancerous cell changes.
