Check your mouth in two minutes
You need a mirror and good light. Do this once a month. You are not looking for cancer — you are looking for anything that has changed and stayed changed.
1.Lips
Pull the upper and lower lip out. Look at the inside surface.
- Normal
- Smooth, evenly pink.
- Worth noting
- Any patch, lump, or sore.
2.Cheeks
Pull each cheek out with a finger. Look at the whole inner surface.
- Normal
- Even colour, no thickened areas.
- Worth noting
- White or red patches, thickened areas, a burning feeling.
3.Gums
Check upper and lower, front and back.
- Normal
- Firm, evenly coloured, teeth held tight.
- Worth noting
- Swelling, discolouration, a tooth that has become loose.
4.Tongue — top and sides
Stick your tongue out, then move it side to side. The sides are where problems most often begin.
- Normal
- Even surface and colour on both sides.
- Worth noting
- Patches, ulcers, hard areas.
5.Under the tongue
Lift your tongue to the roof of your mouth and look at the floor of the mouth.
- Normal
- Thin, even tissue; visible veins are normal.
- Worth noting
- Lumps, sores, unusual veins.
6.Neck and jaw
Feel along both sides of the neck and under the jaw with your fingertips.
- Normal
- No lumps you have not felt before.
- Worth noting
- Any lump that wasn't there before.
What did you find?
Nothing unusual
Good. Do this again next month.
Something that has not healed in two weeks
This is usually not cancer. Finding out takes one appointment and a few minutes.