Did you know dry mouth symptoms are often not related to cancer, however in some cases, they can be. The good news is that dry mouth is not an indication that you may suffer from cancer or either it cannot cause you to have cancer. While that part alone is good news, it is still important to understand clearly how this condition can be related to cancer and how you can get rid of it.
How Cancer Causes Dry Mouth Symptoms
In most cases, dry mouth is a side effect of a medication or an underlying health condition and this is how it relates to cancer. In short, those people who are suffering from dry mouth, also medically known as xerostamia, are likely to feel a constant thirst or a dry, cracked mouth and lips. Obviously this kind of condition is a side effect often attributed to the treatments used to cure cancer. Below are some of the reasons why cancer patients are likely to experience dry mouth.
* You may experience dry mouth symptoms from the medications used to treat cancer. Specifically, the pain medications, diuretics, pain medications and anti depressants you may be taking may have dry mouth as a side effect.
* Radiation therapy also has dry mouth symptoms as a common side effect. This occurs when the salivary glands are affected by the radiation they are exposed to. If your salivary glands are exposed to radiation, it is quite possible that dry mouth will become a lifelong problem for you. While some function may return over time, it is rare for the salivary glands to completely be restored after exposure.
* Health problems like fungal infection in the mouth, candidiasis or dehydration, can lead to dry mouth. With that, it may or may not be related to cancer.
If you are being treated for cancer or are taking common cancer treatment medications, it is best to consult with your doctor if you begin to experience constant dry mouth symptoms. This is especially necessary in situations where your conditions worsen over time or when they are so severe that the symptoms are causing potential infections from the cracked lips or open sores. In some cases, doctors can offer other medications that do not lead to these painful effects, or may offer a treatment for dry mouth that resolves the problem. Dry mouth symptoms may range from a simple nuisance to a severe problem.