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What are Oral Lesions?
Painful oral lesions come in a variety of forms, from multiple
small ulcers to more severe conditions such as mucositis.
What is oral mucositis?
Oral mucositis is an unpleasant, painful ulceration and
inflammation of the oral cavity.
In some cases mucositis can cause severe discomfort or pain
and, at worst, may prevent swallowing of food and fluids.
What causes oral mucositis?
Oral mucositis is induced by a range of oncology therapies.
It is estimated that the following proportion of people
receiving anti-cancer therapies are affected by oral mucositis:
- Standard-dose chemotherapy ~40%2
- High-dose chemotherapy ~75%5
- Radiotherapy for head or neck cancer ~100%4
When do symptoms develop?6,7
With chemotherapy, symptoms usually develop between days four
and five, peaking after seven to ten days.
With radiotherapy to the head & neck, symptoms will peak after
seven to ten days and usually last until two weeks after therapy is
completed
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