this April in honor of Oral Cancer Awareness Month!
by Brian Hill, The Oral Cancer Foundation
Did you know that the fastest growing segment of the oral cancer community is young, healthy nonsmokers? It's shocking but true. Exposure to the HPV-16 virus, the most common sexually transmitted virus, is now the leading cause of oral cancers in the United States. There is nothing we can do to stop this virus from spreading; our only hope to save lives is with professional involvement and public awareness.
Approximately 42,000 Americans will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2013. When found early, oral cancer patients have an 80% survival rate. Unfortunately, the majority is found as late stage cancers, and this accounts for the very high death rate of about 45% at five years from diagnosis. It doesn't have to be this way and it starts with YOU, the dental community, as the first line of defense through the process of early discovery. This is a great opportunity for your office to not only get involved with your community by doing a great service, but also to potentially build your practice while positioning your office as one that helps save lives.
How can you get involved in Oral Cancer Awareness Month?
- Pick one day, morning, or afternoon to hold your free screening event in April. We ask that you hold it for a minimum of three hours.
- Register your screening event on our website by visiting oralcancerfoundation.org. When your event goes live on our calendar, you will be able to start promoting it easily with the Facebook, Twitter, and email links provided.
- Once you're registered, we will send you materials for your screening, including oral cancer brochures for patients, buttons and wristbands for your staff to wear, a press release that you can customize for your specific event, an oral cancer fact sheet, an oral cancer referral form, and marketing tips to ensure a great turnout.
We want to make sure your event is successful. We have created a document with suggestions on how to market your event for a great turnout and to get maximum visibility for your practice. It is key to take advantage of the suggestions we provide to get people to come into your office on screening day. We hope you will join thousands of practices nationwide in offering free screenings this April, and help OCF call attention to the need for early detection. By embracing opportunistic screening, you will help us dramatically reduce the mortality and morbidity of this deadly and disfiguring cancer. We can't beat this disease without involved professionals who want to make a difference in the fight against oral cancer.
Please choose to partner with OCF in 2013, not only to build your practice but also to change the direction of this disease.
The Oral Cancer Foundation
3419 Via Lido #205
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949-723-4400
[email protected]
www.oralcancer.org
The Oral Cancer Foundation website: www.oralcancerfoundation.org
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