MU Health Care is providing free head and neck cancer screenings on Friday, April 27 at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. Screenings will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and appointments are recommended. Call (573) 817-3080 to schedule your appointment.

Risk Factors

• Alcohol use
• Tobacco use, including smokeless tobacco
• Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV)

Signs and Symptoms
An early indication of oral and throat cancer is one or more changes in the way the soft tissues of your mouth usually look or feel. Signs and symptoms may include:

• A sore in your mouth that doesn't heal or increases in size
• Persistent pain in your mouth 
• Lumps or white, red or dark patches inside your mouth 
• Thickening of your cheek 
• Difficulty chewing or swallowing or moving your tongue 
• Difficulty moving your jaw, or swelling or pain in your jaw 
• Soreness in your throat or feeling that something is caught in your throat 
• Pain around your teeth, or loosening of your teeth 
• Numbness of your tongue or elsewhere in your mouth 
• Changes in your voice 
• A lump in your neck 
• Bad breath

Most oral cancers arise on the lips, tongue or on the floor of the mouth. They also may occur inside your cheeks, on your gums or on the roof of your mouth.