Page 32 - DP Vol 19 No 2 HR_Neat

OncOlOgy sectiOn

What We Can Do about oral CanCer

Dr. Sanjukta Mohanta and Dr. Parul Dua Makkar

As oral health professionals, the most important table 1: Signs and Symptoms
thing we can find isn’t a cavity or periodontitis. of oral Cancer (Canadian
The most important thing we can detect is oral Cancer Society)
cancer. Typically, when oral cancer is discovered, it • Erythroplakia, leukoplakia or
is in the later stages leading to disfiguring surgeries erythroleukoplakia
and even death.1 This is what happened to Manu • Lumps and thickening
• Bleeding • Earache
Dua, a 33-year-old healthy male from Calgary, • Loose teeth
Alberta, Canada who noticed a sore on the side • Dentures do not fit
of his tongue. At first, he didn’t take it seriously • Slurred speech
until the pain kept him up at night and he was • Swollen salivary glands
having difficulty eating. Then he got the diagnosis • Swollen lymph nodes
in July 2019: Stage 2 squamous cell carcinoma of • Numbness • Jaw swelling
R.I.P Dr. Manu Dua the tongue with lymph node involvement. Half of • Change in voice
his tongue was removed and reconstructed along with a neck dissection to • Pain swallowing • Weight loss
remove affected lymph nodes.
He quickly returned to work and learned to speak, chew and use his tongue
again. He thought he was cancer-free until his neck swelled up less than a year table 2: risk Factors for oral Cancer (Canadian Cancer Society)
later. It was the start of the pandemic and Manu received devastating news • Tobacco • Alcohol • Betel Nut • Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
– the cancer had spread. He went through 33 chemotherapy and radiation • Past cancer • Family history of squamous cell carcinoma
sessions and received more bad news - the cancer had metastasized and had • Sun exposure • Diet low in fruits and vegetables
spread to his lung lining. It was untreatable. The young man known for his • Weakened immune system • Poor Oral Health
muscular build, easy smile and many friendships was unrecognizable and
isolated from his friends. His sister, Parul Dua Makkar, a dentist in New
York, desperately wanted to see him, but had difficulty crossing the border ABOUt tHe AUtHORs
during the lockdown. On March 14th, 2022 she bid goodbye to him over a
WhatsApp video call and said, “You can let go now.” Dr. Sanjukta Mohanta is a general
Manu was a dentist. He was 34 years old. dentist practicing at a publicly funded
Manu was a young dentist with no risk factors and he died from oral cancer. dental clinic in Brampton, Ontario,
Cancer can affect anyone and it is our duty to raise oral cancer awareness and Canada. She graduated from the
to be diligent in doing oral cancer screenings. Let’s all raise awareness of oral University of Toronto, Faculty of
cancer, reduce the risks and discover it in earlier stages. Dentistry in 1999. She volunteers with
Here are ways we can help: the Canadian Dental Association,
1. Encourage patients to check themselves for oral cancer and notify you if Ontario Dental Association, Halton-
they notice anything unusual in the head and neck area. Peel Dental Association and the dental
2. Post information about oral cancer on your office bulletin board, website charity, Filling the Gap Dental Outreach, where she is
and social media accounts. the Board Secretary.
3. Recommend the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. This decreases Dr. Parul Dua Makkar completed her
the risk of many cancers including oral cancer. Bachelor of Science from University of
4. Do thorough oral cancer screenings on your patients at least annually Central Oklahoma 1999, Magna Cum
5. Talk to your patients about decreasing the risk factors for oral cancer such Laude and then DDS from University
as smoking, drinking alcohol and using betel nut. of Oklahoma College of Dentistry,
6. Encourage healthy diets and good oral hygiene in 2003. She practiced in Alberta,
7. Advise patients to use lip balm with sun protection factor (SPF) CA before moving to NY. Here she
8. Provide free oral cancer screenings completed a GPR training at Staten
9. Biopsy or refer unusual lesions. If you suspect oral cancer, refer to an oral Island University Hospital, 2007 and has been in private
pathologist immediately instead of waiting 2 weeks. practice since. Currently she is the owner of PDM Family
Manu is not alive to share his story about oral cancer. It is up to us to Dental in Long Island, NY, a place she resides in with her
raise oral cancer awareness so there will be no more sad stories like Manu’s. husband and 2 boys. Dr. Makkar’s life took a different
According to the CDC, oral cancer is increasing, primarily HPV related trajectory when she lost her only and younger sibling,
oral cancers. Let’s stop this deadly trend. Together we can all reduce oral Dr. Manu Dua, to Oral Cancer last year. Since his death,
cancer. In his last days, Manu wrote a series of blogs that are now a book, she devotes her time educating doctors and patients
Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide (available on Amazon). It is a first- alike about risk factors, prevention and advocating for
hand encounter of suffering from oral cancer while being a dentist: someone early diagnosis of Oral cancer.
trained to diagnose the disease that took his life. Let Manu’s story not just be a This article has been reproduced from SPECTRUM Dental
statistic, but a movement to prevent oral cancer deaths with earlier diagnosis. Teamwork, Vol. 16 No.2 - March 2023
32 Dental Practice i March-April 2023 i Vol 19 No 2