But many of us don t realize that up to one-third of people who get chemotherapy and head and neck radiation for cancer also develop complications that affect the mouth. These problems can be serious and may interfere with cancer treatment, dramatically affect quality of life, and may even last a lifetime. Fitting the Pieces Together, that provides free materials to patients and health professionals about how to prevent or reduce these potentially serious oral complications. Of the 1.2 million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year, more than 400,000 will develop oral complications from their treatment. Complications of the mouth are most common in patients receiving head and neck radiation, bone marrow transplants, or certain types of chemotherapy.
Many cancer patients develop mouth problems during treatment.
Side effects in the mouth can not only make it hard to eat, talk, and swallow but also can interfere with your treatment. Oral complications of cancer treatment can be short-term or linger for years. Proper oral health care can prevent or reduce the severity of many mouth problems. Radiation and chemotherapy kill cancer cells but they can also kill normal cells, including those in the mouth. Long-term side effects that may occur or continue after cancer treatment include chronic dry mouth and rampant tooth decay, jaw stiffness, inability to heal, permanent jaw bone damage, and in children, growth and developmental abnormalities of the bones and teeth.