How Your Life Choices Affect Oral Cancer Treatment and Recovery?

Oral cancer is a severe medical disorder that affects the tongue, lips, throat, and mouth. Oral cancer treatment options often involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these. Undoubtedly, medical intervention plays a vital role in your fight against cancer. However, your lifestyle choices can also impact your response to oral cancer treatment and recovery. Let’s see how.

Tobacco Use and Smoking

Tobacco usage is one of the most important lifestyle choices influencing oral cancer treatment and recovery. Smoking and using smokeless tobacco products can make treatment more difficult and prolong recovery besides raising your risk of oral cancer. Smoking during treatment can reduce the benefits of chemotherapy and radiation therapy by lowering blood oxygen levels. Low blood oxygen levels can make it challenging for your body to get rid of cancer cells and impair its capacity to heal.

Giving up smoking is necessary for a better prognosis from treatment. It has been seen that individuals who give up smoking following their diagnosis have better responses to treatment and fewer post-diagnostic problems. Quitting tobacco can also promote long-term survival rates by dramatically reducing the chance of cancer recurrence.

Alcohol Consumption

Consuming alcohol in excess is another significant risk factor for mouth cancer. Alcohol irritates the mucosal lining of your throat and mouth, increasing the risk of cancer in these areas. You may have more problems if you drink excessively both during and after treatment. Alcohol might affect how your body processes drugs, making radiotherapy and chemotherapy less effective. Alcohol can also weaken your immune system and reduce your body’s capacity to fight off the illness and heal.

Alcohol consumption can be cut back on or eliminated to enhance the reaction of your body to cancer treatment. Patients who don’t drink alcohol typically recover faster and have fewer negative effects.

Diet and Nutrition

A healthy diet is essential for aiding your recovery and assisting your body in adjusting to the side effects of cancer therapy. Mouth sores, appetite loss, and difficulties swallowing are common adverse effects of treatments including radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Inadequate nutrition can cause exhaustion, weight loss, and a weaker immune system during therapy. These conditions can impede the healing process.

Nutrient-rich foods with high antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can strengthen your immune system and promote repair of damaged tissue. Foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains support you in keeping your energy and strength levels up throughout therapy. Moreover, maintaining hydration is crucial for managing dry mouth, a common adverse effect of radiation therapy.

Even while medical treatments are the main focus of cancer treatment, your own lifestyle choices have a significant impact on how well the treatment works overall and how quickly you recover. Your body can fight oral cancer and recover from it more effectively if you give up alcohol and tobacco, eat a healthy diet, take care of your teeth, and manage stress. You may greatly enhance your chances of a positive outcome and have a higher quality of life both before and after treatment by taking control of these factors.