Word of Mouth
Author: Veronica Jauriqui Source: University of Southern California (www.usc.edu) Oral Cancer Awareness Week begins April 16. Even though the disease has maintained a low public profile, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 34,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2007. Here is what you should know to reduce the risk of oral cancer. Nearly every hour of every day, someone in the United States dies of oral cancer, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation, a national non-profit agency dedicated to prevention, education and research in oral cancers. Oral and pharyngeal cancers (cancers of the lip, mouth, tongue and throat) account for about 7,500 deaths per year and have a higher fatality rate than cancers of the lung, breast, prostate and cervix. While it does not share the same high public profile as these other diseases, oral cancer is the eighth most common cancer in this country. And in many developing countries—like India, China and Vietnam—it is number one. The statistics are disturbing, especially since oral cancer is highly preventable, explains Parish Sedghizadeh, D.D.S., assistant professor at the USC School of Dentistry. In fact, the Oral Cancer Foundation says that when oral cancers are found early, patients have an estimated 80 to 90 percent survival rate. “Like most cancers, early screening is the key,” Sedghizadeh says. “The first line of defense is knowing who is at risk and what to look for.” What are the signs? The majority of oral cancers—those on the lips, tongue, inside the lining of [...]