For many years, oral cancer awareness has fallen by the wayside, but with the recent development of early detection systems, the disease is getting more press. Rightfully so. A quick visit to the facts page at www.oralcancerfoundation.org tells us that:
- “More than 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year.” (Many more go undiagnosed.)
- 8000 will die – that’s one every hour, all day and all night.
- Only half of the 34,000 diagnosed will live 5 years.
- Oral cancer deaths outnumber those from cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s, testes, endocrine system, and skin cancer.
Early detection improves survival potential by 50-70%. If it were your health, or your loved ones’, you’d want those odds in your favor.
You may have already heard these facts. After all, Dental Economics editor Joe Blaes has helped spread the facts about oral cancer, making the topic his quest this year. In this month’s DE, Louis Malcmacher, DDS picks up the reigns, telling us that a new website is available to teach people how to do oral cancer self exams at home.
Hopefully your patients are coming in for checkups every six months. And hopefully you are doing a thorough soft tissue exam, including and inspection for oral cancer lesions. Even better, maybe you use the ViziLite or VELscope to detect cancer before it’s visible in a traditional visual exam. The truth is, many dentists don’t prioritize oral cancer screenings, and many people don’t visit the dentist like they should. This combination can allow many oral cancer victims to be ignorant of their condition until it’s too late.
The oral cancer self-exam site, www.oralcancerselfexam.com, is a great tool for you to share with your patients. Spread the word and help put a dent in a disease that’s silent, deadly, and rampant across the globe.
SOURCE:
Dental Economics (August 2008), “Make Oral Cancer Exams a Priority” pg 22, Louis Malcmacher, DDS
Oral Cancer Foundation website: http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/index.htm
Oral Cancer Self Exam website: www.oralcancerselfexam.com