Sore mouth or throat
Mouth sores, tender gums and a sore throat or oesophagus often result from radiotherapy, chemotherapy or infections.
These treatments target rapidly-growing cells because cancer cells grow rapidly, normal cells inside the mouth may be damaged by these cancer treatments because they also grow rapidly. Consequently, mouth sores may become infected and bleed, making eating difficult.
Mucositis is an inflammation of mucous membranes in the mouth. It usually appears as red, burn-like sores or as ulcer -like sores throughout the mouth and may be caused by either radiotherapy or chemotherapy. In patients receiving chemotherapy, mucositis will heal by itself, usually in 2 to 4 weeks when there is no infection. Mucositis caused by radiotherapy usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks, depending on the duration of treatment.
Because of mucositis, the following problems may occur:
- pain,
- infection,
- bleeding, in patients receiving chemotherapy (patients undergoing radiotherapy usually do not have a bleeding risk),
- inability to breathe and eat easily.
By avoiding certain foods that irritate the mouth e.g. alcohol, spicy foods, acidic foods, choosing a soft diet and observing good oral hygiene, patients can usually make eating easier and relieve the symptoms of mucositis and sore mouth and throat.
Source: National Cancer Institute
