OCF In The News

Boy Scout Troop Hiking to Raise Awareness of Oral Cancer in Honor of their Former Scoutmaster

Source: abcnews4.comAuthor: Staff AWENDAW, S.C. (WCIV) -- South Carolina is second in the nation for the number of people who die from oral cancer every year. That statistic hits too close to home for one local Boy Scout troop who is now taking on the fight against the cancer. For five days, Boy Scout Troop 50 will be hiking through the Francis Marion National Forest from Awendaw to Moncks Corner. “Last summer our former Scoutmaster was diagnosed with tongue and throat cancer and he had to step down,” said Larry Elkin, who is volunteering to help lead the hike. Elkin says the boys have been preparing the 53 mile voyage for months. Their goal is to raise $5,000 to donate to the Oral Cancer Foundation. “Mr. Hardy loved his troop and he loved to hike, so what way better way to honor and bring awareness than through something he loved,” said Elkin. “If it's one thing Mr. Hardy taught me is that if you are not going to do something right then don't do it at all,” said Reid Kaplan, a 17-year-old who was under Hardy's leadership when he was in the sixth grade. It's memories and lessons learned from Hardy that Kaplan says will keep him going when he gets tired. “I remember going camping with him, and no matter how tired or worn out he was he never gave up he never complained, so when I'm drained I'll be thinking about that,” said Kaplan. Cole Shuber is another [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-12-29T11:48:55-07:00December, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Study suggests that experience counts when it comes to head and neck cancer treatments

Source: medicalxpress.comAuthor: staff When it comes to specialized cancer surgery, it's generally true that the more experienced the surgeon, the better the outcome. The same might hold true for radiation therapy used to treat head and neck cancer, according to a new study led by researchers Evan Wuthrick, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James), and Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the OSUCCC - James. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology with an accompanying editorial, the study compared survival and other outcomes in 470 patients treated with radiation therapy at 101 treatment centers through a clinical trial held from 2002 to 2005. The trial was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and organized by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). The findings indicated that patients treated at the less-experienced centers were more likely to have cancer recurrence (62 percent versus 42 percent at five years) and had poorer overall survival compared with those at the highly-experienced centers (51 percent versus 69 percent five-year survival, respectively). "Our findings suggest that institutional experience strongly influences outcomes in patients treated with radiation therapy for head and neck cancer," says Wuthrick, the paper's first author. "They indicate that patients do better when treated at centers where more of these procedures are performed versus centers that do fewer." Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer requires complex treatment planning that can vary considerably [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-12-09T12:06:48-07:00December, 2014|OCF In The News|

Hospital Cancer Program Confronts The Existential

Source: huffingtonpost.comAuthor: Sasha Bronner People who battle stage 4 cancer are familiar with words like chemotherapy, radiation and metastasize. But words they may not hear at a hospital as often are existentialism, mindfulness, legacy and humor. Dr. Arash Asher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles is dedicating his life to changing that. Asher, 38, is a physiatrist -- a rehab doctor. Before his new program, Asher focused his training on the physical aspects of cancer treatment -- things like cogitative rehab, and the management of pain and nausea. But a good number of patients kept coming back to him to talk about their deep and persistent fears. “We can treat someone’s physical pain, but I just felt like we weren’t doing enough as a system," Asher says. "An antidepressant will not solve the issue.” So Asher decided to create a rehabilitation program that focuses on the emotional fallout of cancer treatment. He recruited patients for the first course that began in mid-July and is currently in the fourth cycle of the program, called Growing Resiliency and Courage with Cancer, or GRACE. Two hours a week, for five weeks, seven to nine patients meet in a conference room at Cedars-Sinai with Asher and Jeffrey Wertheimer, a neuropsychologist who co-developed the program. The group focuses discussions on themes or lessons -- like wisdom, gratitude, humor, courage and legacy-creation. Patients are assigned homework reading, learn meditation techniques and conclude class with a piece on mindfulness. The emphasis on mindfulness has a basis [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-10-13T12:20:02-07:00October, 2014|OCF In The News|

Oral Cancer Survivor Eva Grayzel Talks About Her Efforts to Make A Difference

Source: www.lehighvalleylive.comAuthor: Andrew James Sheldon As an oral cancer survivor, Eva Grayzel knows how lucky she is. She organizes an annual awareness walk for what she says is an often overlooked disease. "I was diagnosed sixteen years ago and I am so lucky to be articulate," she said. "I can't ethically live my life as I do without doing whatever I can to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to other people." Grayzel survived stage four oral cancer, which is the most serious of the four stages. She has served as the chair of the oral cancer awareness walk in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, for six years. This year's walk is Sept. 27. Grayzel says that raising awareness is the key step to catching the disease early before it can do the most damage. Other survivors will join her in the walk. "There are going to be 20 survivors who have all been diagnosed late and most of them have facial disfigurements. They can't speak normally, some of them can't speak," she said. "It's devastating. Oral cancer steals things we take for granted such basic human needs, everything social." Grayzel's group helped organize a continuing education class for dentists to learn about oral cancer and its connection with the human papillomavirus. Symptoms of oral cancer are sometimes unrecognized by sufferers and doctors. Eileen Ciszak lost her daughter as a result of a misdiagnosis. "The doctor gave her an antibiotic and told her to see her dentist, that she probably had a cracked [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-09-03T15:56:09-07:00September, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cowboy Cody Kiser Joins Anti-Tobacco Campaign to Help Educate Young Consumers

Source: parade.condenast.comAuthor: Lindsay Lowe The campaign to educate consumers about the dangers of tobacco has a new all-American hero: rodeo cowboy Cody Kiser, who’s partnering with the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF) to educate parents and kids about the health risks associated with smokeless tobacco. While chewing tobacco has long been popular among rodeo cowboys, Kiser, 23, says the drug never appealed to him, and says he hopes to serve as a positive example in an industry with traditionally strong sponsorship ties to the tobacco industry. “My dad was a cowboy, so I know what it’s like looking up to cowboys as heroes for my whole life,” he said in a release. “Health and fitness have always been incredibly important to my family. My dad was a positive role model in my life growing up in that regard, and the idea of using spit tobacco never appealed to me.” Tobacco and rodeo have a long intertwining history; the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association was sponsored by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company from 1986 to 2009, when the Cowboys Association decided to end its relationship with tobacco advertisers. One can of spit tobacco has the equivalent nicotine of 40 cigarettes, and a “30-minute chew” is the equivalent of smoking three cigarettes, according to the OCF, meaning that an addiction to smokeless tobacco “can be one of the hardest to break.” Spit tobacco (which can refer to smokeless tobacco, dip, snuff, chew, and chewing tobacco) can cause gum disease, tooth decay, and “white patches [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-08-08T09:35:22-07:00August, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cowboy becomes advocate for Oral Cancer Foundation

Source: Idaho Press-Tribune/www.idahopress.comAuthor: Kelcie Moseley Brian Hill was a self-professed health freak. He was an outdoorsman who had never used tobacco. He was a fit 230 pounds with 8 percent body fat. But a lump in the side of his neck changed his life in 1997. Hill is the founder and president of the Oral Cancer Foundation, a small national nonprofit organization based in Newport Beach, California. He is an oral cancer survivor who contracted the disease through human papillomavirus, or HPV, which happens more often than people think, Hill said. He is now a fierce advocate for more awareness of the disease, which is also often caused by smoking or chewing tobacco — and those two forms of tobacco are about as common with the rodeo crowd as Coors and Budweiser. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 14 percent of boys ages 12 to 17 use smokeless tobacco nationwide, and the rates are higher in rural states. The newest effort to achieve more awareness and early detection of oral cancer starts with Cody Kiser, the new rodeo representative for the foundation. Kiser, 23, is a bareback bronco rider who competed in the Snake River Stampede this week on his rodeo circuit. He graduated in May with a civil engineering degree from the University of Nevada-Reno, not far from his hometown of Carson City. “We’ve wanted to (have a rodeo representative) for about five years, we just never found the right person who was the right voice [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-07-21T14:28:55-07:00July, 2014|OCF In The News|

Grateful Dead guitarist plays concerts with tribute band to benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation

Source: truebluetribune.com Author: staff Mark Karan, former lead guitarist for the post Grateful Dead band, The Other Ones, and Joe Pulitano, drummer for the Grateful Dead tribute band, Deadbeat, who are both stage IV oral cancer survivors, recently teamed up to play three benefit concerts in the North East to raise money for the Oral Cancer Foundation and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Following Deadbeat’s benefit performances this spring, with Mark playing guest guitar, the two men donated $7,500 of the concert proceeds to the Oral Cancer Foundation to support the organization’s research, advocacy, and educational efforts. What’s interesting is how these two talented musicians, who did not know each other before their individual encounters with this deadly disease, came together. Like many who find themselves dealing with oral cancer, Joe had complained for 14 months to his doctor about voice change, shortness of breath when speaking, and a sore throat. He was eventually diagnosed with stage IV head and neck cancer. Years before Mark’s diagnosis with oral cancer, and after Jerry Garcia’s death, he was chosen to share his lead guitar slot with Steve Kimock in the Other Ones. Just two years ago, while laying in a hospital bed, Mark asked his wife to hand him his guitar and a piece of paper. Twenty minutes later, “Walk Through Fire” was written, a song about his personal resolve, humility, acceptance, courage and lessons learned in his brush with the life-threatening disease. “It was one of those songs you hope for, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-06-17T18:55:31-07:00June, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

The Eighth Annual Oral Cancer Walk for Awareness of New York at NYU raises more than $50,000

Source: dental.nyu.eduAuthor: Staff On Sunday, April 21, 2013, oral cancer survivors and their families joined dental students from the NYU chapter of the Student National Dental Association (SNDA), residents, dental hygiene students, nursing students, faculty, and staff from the NYU Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing for the eighth annual NYC Oral Cancer Awareness Walk, which set out from the Kissena Park Velodrome in Queens for a four-mile walk, ending at Citi Field, home of the Mets. The event attracted 600-plus walkers and raised over $50,000 -- the highest total to date – for oral cancer awareness, prevention, and treatment. In addition to NYUCD and NYUCN, sponsors included Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, the NYU Oral Cancer Center, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, the Oral Cancer Foundation, New York Hospital in Queens, the Oral Cancer Consortium, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the UMDNJ New Jersey Dental School, and Boulevard Dental Center. Free oral cancer screenings were available throughout the event. A highlight of the event was remarks by U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-Queens), whose husband is Dr. Wayne Kye, ’02, clinical assistant professor of periodontology and implant dentistry. As he has done since 2006, Dr. Ross Kerr, clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology, radiology and medicine, provided invaluable strategic advice, encouragement, and support to the extraordinary student volunteers who made the walk such a great success. *This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2014-06-06T11:14:32-07:00June, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Aspen Dental and The Oral Cancer Foundation join together and conducted over 2,400 oral cancer screenings in April

Source: sacbee.comAuthor: Aspen Dental SYRACUSE, N.Y., May 29, 2014 -- Aspen Dental, one of the largest and fastest-growing networks of dental care providers in the U.S., conducted 2,420 oral cancer screenings at Aspen Dental locations during the month of April, resulting in a $12,100 donation to The Oral Cancer Foundation. The program, which included a $5 donation for each screening conducted, was run throughout the Aspen Dental network, which includes more than 450 practices across 27 states. Since 2010, Aspen Dental has donated more than $63,000 to The Oral Cancer Foundation. "Each year, oral cancer kills more people in the U.S. than other more widely known forms of cancer, including skin, lymphatic, thyroid, and cervical cancers," said Jamie O'Day, Director of Operations for The Oral Cancer Foundation. "The funds raised through Aspen Dental's oral cancer screening campaign in April are imperative to help OCF continue to sponsor research, provide patient support, education, and early detection initiatives which are all related to our mission. We are proud to be associated with an organization that makes oral cancer screenings a priority in their practices." According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, approximately 43,250 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2014. This is the eighth year in a row in which there has been an increase in the rate of occurrence of oral cancers, in 2007 there was a major jump of over 11% in that single year. "Unfortunately many patients are not familiar with the risk factors or symptoms that serve as warning signs of [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-05T11:35:53-07:00June, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV Can Damage Genes and Chromosomes Directly, Whole-Genome Sequencing Study Shows

Press release from the James Cancer Center COLUMBUS, Ohio – The virus that causes cervical, head and neck, anal and other cancers can damage chromosomes and genes where it inserts its DNA into human DNA, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). It’s long been known that cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV) produce two viral proteins, called E6 and E7, which are essential for the development of cancer. However, they are not sufficient to cause cancer. Additional alterations in host-cell genes are necessary for cancer to develop. Here, scientists identified a new mechanism by which HPV may damage host DNA directly and contribute to cancer development. Published in the journal Genome Research, this laboratory study used whole-genome sequencing to investigate the relationship between the HPV and host genomes in human cancers. “Our sequencing data showed in vivid detail that HPV can damage host-cell genes and chromosomes at sites of viral insertion,” says co-senior author David Symer, MD, PhD, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at the OSUCCC – James. “HPV can act like a tornado hitting the genome, disrupting and rearranging nearby host-cell genes,” Symer explains. “This can lead to overexpression of cancer-causing genes in some cases, or it can disrupt protective tumor-suppressor genes in others. Both kinds of damage likely promote the development of cancer.” “We observed fragments of the [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-11-08T12:21:37-07:00November, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|