To spread awareness about the importance of annual oral cancer screenings, Forward Science Technologies, the developer of the OralID cancer screening device, and the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF) have partnered to share the story of a family's loss after a protracted and difficult battle with oral cancer.
At 44 years, Carol Layer had no traditional risk factors, such as alcohol or tobacco use, and was not a patient who at high risk for oral cancer. She found a lesion on the side of her tongue and decided to have it examined by her dentist. After numerous referrals, and even a negative biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage IV oral cancer. She fought the cancer for nine years before her death in 2011. Carol is survived by her husband and two children.
To learn more about Layer's fight with oral cancer, visit www.oralid.com/carolsfight.
The key to lowering the number of fatalities caused by oral cancer is to detect lesions or suspicious tissues before they progress into cancer, according to Forward Science. With the oral cancer screening devices available today, clinicians often have a way to discover abnormalities before they are visible with the naked eye.
