Mouth Cancer Awareness Walk
The team from Holistic Dental Centre in the Hart, Farnham took part
in raising awareness for mouth Cancer last weekend. A 10km walk with
colleagues and survivors of mouth Cancer walked twice round Hyde
Park wearing T-shirts displaying information about Mouth Cancer. Mouth
Cancer is really important to us and we endeavor to inform our
patients and others about the importance of dental health checks as
well as self care checks. There is a ‘how to check your own mouth’
video to follow on https://www.mouthcancerfoundation.org
Oral Cancer, signs and symptoms to be aware of are any of the following:
Ulcers that do not heal within 3 weeks,
Lumps/swellings/red or white patches,
Changes in texture, bleeding, numbness or tingling,
Difficulty or pain with chewing, swallowing or moving the jaw,
These are all areas that need to be checked. They could be related to other conditions but it is always best to get checked. If mouth cancer is discovered early, it may be treated with surgery alone.
The main cause of mouth cancer is smoking, smokers are 6 times more likely to develop a head or neck Cancer.
Alcohol is another common cause of mouth Cancer. 3 in 4 people who
have mouth Cancer are smokers and consume alcohol. Experts suggest the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), transmitted through oral sex, could overtake tobacco and alcohol as the main risk factor within the coming decade. The figures of lives lost to mouth Cancer are actually quite shocking:
1 person every 3 HOURS is lost to Mouth cancer, Mouth Cancer is TWICE as common in men than women, though an increasing number of women are being diagnosed with the disease, Mouth cancer causes more deaths in the UK each year than road traffic accidents.
Incidence has risen by 49% over the past 10 years. More people in the UK die each year of mouth cancer than of cervical and testicular cancer combined. The 5 year SURVIVAL rate has hardly improved in last few decades due to late detection,which is why we advocate regular dental health checks and self examinations at home.
Dr Emma Davison has saved the lives of a few of her patients, as she spotted early signs of mouth cancer and referred them for treatment on a fast track referral system. They were treated early and are survivors of mouth cancer! One patient still continues to travel over an hour to visit us for routine dental health checks as she is so grateful to Emma detecting mouth cancer at an early stage.
There is a ‘how to check your own mouth’ video to follow on https://www.mouthcancerfoundation.org