How Can I Keep Oral Cancer from Recurring?

If you already have oral cancer, taking the same steps that lower a person’s risks of getting the disease can help make your treatment more successful.

If you haven’t made the following lifestyle changes already, then talk with your doctor about how to do so:

• Quit smoking.¹

• Don’t use chewing tobacco or snuff.¹

• Stop drinking alcohol.¹

• Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight.¹

• Get regular dental care.

• Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.¹

Making these changes can be hard, but you don’t have to make them alone. Your doctor can suggest resources to help. Look for counselors or self-help groups in your area. Find other people who have been able to make these changes. Ask them for ideas about what worked for them.

¹ “What Are The Risk Factors for Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Cancers?” American Cancer Society. September 28, 2007. www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_oral_cavity_and_oropharyngeal_cancer_60.asp?sitearea= Accessed 2008.