MedifocusHealth

Oral cancer and its treatments can cause discomfort in the mouth that can make it difficult to eat or drink, and foods may taste differently making them less appealing. However, adequate nutrition is critical to overall health and healing so it is important to talk with the health care team about ways to ensure adequate dietary intake and hydration.

Tongue cancer patients may experience significant problems with chewing, swallowing, speech, and physical appearance which can lead to a variety of psychological problems. Important psychosocial issues that may be faced by patients with oral cancer include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Feeling of isolation from family and friends
• Loss of self esteem
• Reduced libido (sexual drive).

It is, therefore, important for patients and their families to be on the lookout for evidence of psychosocial problems that may arise during or after the course of treatment for oral cancer and immediately seek professional evaluation and counseling from a mental health care provider to prevent potentially serious sequelae.

Rehabilitation is an extremely important aspect of the overall treatment plan for patients with oral cancer. The primary goal of rehabilitation is to improve function and restore the patient to a normal, active lifestyle as soon as possible. Rehabilitation strategies for oral cancer patients may involve a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals including speech/language therapist, nutritionist, dentist, oral surgeon or plastic surgeon. In some cases, a mental health care professional may be consulted to help the oral cancer patient who develops depression or other psychological abnormalities.