On Tuesday 25th October, Mouth Cancer Action Month was officially launched at the Houses of Parliament in London. This year’s campaign urges people, ‘if in doubt, get checked out'.Christina attended alongside other colleagues from the dental profession to the Houses of Parliament, which was hosted by British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF).
This year's guest speaker Sally Bragg, had herself suffered the devastation of mouth cancer. Sally told of her difficult journey from the moment she discovered the mouth ulcer, to saying goodbye to her son as she waited, terrified, to undergo a 10-hour operation. The operation involved having her lower back teeth removed, part of her jawbone sawed away, an artery from her arm implanted in her face, and skin from her stomach grafted on her arm as she had the whole tumour from her cheek removed.
The most shocking aspect of Sally’s story is that both her dentist and doctor failed to notice the most obvious of mouth cancer symptoms; it was only Sally’s persistence and gut feeling that something was wrong that eventually got her referred to a specialist.
In the UK, the numbers for late diagnosis are growing, and people are failing to seek medical advice if they have symptoms. But what has brought on a new rate of concern, is that trends are showing rising rates of mouth cancer in younger people. This is in relation to the the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which has been shown to be a risk factor in developing the disease. A study undertaken by the Health Protection Agency showed that last year alone, a total of 482,696 new STI cases were reported in the UK, and with HPV considered as the fastest growing cause of mouth cancer, the figures are a cause of great concern.
Mouth cancer is on the rise, with almost 5,000 people being diagnosed each year, and 1,700 dying each year from the disease. This is a 17% rise in the last five years, which means more people are dying from mouth cancer than testicular and cervical cancer combined.
Early diagnosis is key for for survival, but unfortunately awareness is low.
If you notice any of the following, then get checked out:
- Swellings/thickenings, lumps or bumps, rough spots/crusts/or eroded areas on the lips, gums, or other areas inside the mouth.
- Velvety white, red, or speckled (white and red) patches in the mouth.
- Ulcers that do not go way within 3 weeks.
To help spread awareness, we're tweeting and facebooking a fact daily, so follow us to see how much you really know. We're also offering free mouth cancer screening up until November 30th, 2011. So, if in doubt, get checked out.
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