Oral Mucositis, a common complication of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, affects up to 50% of all patients who receive this combination. Patients receiving chemotherapy alone also have a high occurrence of the debilitating condition.
How Does Mucositis Develop?
Aggressive cancer treatments, such as radio- and chemotherapy, often involve painful side effects and complications. Mucositis is one of them. Cells, normally located in the mouth, have a delicate balance of natural bacteria. This balance can be adversely affected by radio- and chemotherapy, leaving the mouth open to ulcers and infections.
Stages of Mucositis:
• The initial symptoms are marked with redness of the gums surrounding the roots of the teeth and swelling of the mucous membrane of the mouth. • Infection and painful mouth ulcers can appear as soon as five days after chemotherapy begins. If the patient is receiving radiotherapy, signs of mucositis generally take two weeks or more to occur. • Once the painful, deep ulcers have formed, patients will always be at risk for a repeat incidence of mucositis, as cells below the surface remain permanently damaged.
How to Fight Mucositis:
The best way to fight mucositis is to prevent its unwelcome appearance altogether. Since we know what a problem mucositis is and how many individuals are affected by it, early intervention and preventative treatment are the correct approach–But what preventive treatment? For years, pharmacists have offered up their own concoction of mouth rinse to help relieve the symptoms after their appearance, but a product to actually avoid the ulcers and pain altogether had not been found. MuGard is a product developed by Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: ACCP) that has proved to be a viable solution in the prevention of Mucositis . During clinical studies, 43% of patients taking MuGard, never developed the first symptom. In comparison, only 7% using traditional methods remained mucositis free.
What is MuGard?
MuGard is a muco-adhesive rinse that applies a protective coating to the mouth, which prevents the unwanted bacteria from forming. Jeffrey Davis, President and CEO of Access, believes that early education of Mucositis is vital to successful prevention of its appearance. Once cancer patients (especially those receiving radiation therapy in the head and neck areas) are using MuGard along with their cancer treatments, the incidence of Mucositis will be greatly reduced. Patients that are already suffering from the anxiety of cancer and its effects on the body need as few side issues to deal with as possible. Oral health is everything to a recovering cancer patient. Poor oral health and painful sores can cause a patient to refrain from eating, cause malnutrition, a weakened immune system, and a variety of other complications. MuGard is a comforting step in the right direction for cancer patients.
