A U.K. oral health charity has announced the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, which will take place throughout November and is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease.
The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF), in association with Denplan, will be calling on dentists, doctors, and pharmacists to educate members of the general public under the tagline "If in doubt, get checked out."
"If the profession can inform and urge patients that regularly attending checkups increases the chances of mouth cancer being detected at an early stage, together we can help to raise awareness of this killer disease," stated Nigel Carter, BDS, chief executive of the BDHF, in a press release. "Incidences of mouth cancer have increased by more than 45% in the last 10 years, and nine in 10 people survive mouth cancers caught early, yet the five-year survival rate remains as low as 50%."
Encouraging patients to perform self-diagnosis, such as looking for ulcers that do not heal within three weeks, red or white patches, or unusual changes in the mouth, can also help toward early detection, Dr. Carter added.
