More than 54,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with oral cancer each year, and of that group, about 68% of them will survive over the next five years. If you find out that you have oral cancer, your chances of survival will depend on how advanced it already is as well as whether you have it treated appropriately as soon as possible. Below is a closer look at the different stages of oral cancer as well as how the disease can be identified.

Do you need to be concerned if a lesion appears in your mouth? On the one hand, it could be a relatively harmless canker sore that will go away within a few weeks; on the other hand, it could be a symptom of a much more frightening problem – namely, oral cancer. How can you tell the difference between canker sores and oral cancer so that you can react appropriately? Here’s what you need to know.