• 6/14/2005
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • U.S. Newswire

Volunteer dentists from the USC School of Dentistry will offer free oral cancer screenings to the public on:

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 18
At Wal-Mart located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 4101 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

Over 1500 people are expected to attend.

In the first of what the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF) anticipates becoming a national outreach opportunity, Crest, Wal- Mart, and Henry Schein Inc. have teamed up with the foundation to raise awareness and the early detection of oral cancer across America.

Bernard Parks, Councilmember of District 8, is scheduled to appear for an oral cancer screening.

Brian Hill, Founder and Executive Director of OCF stated, “Oral cancer is not widely known to the majority of Americans, however the death rate from this cancer is higher than that of many we routinely hear about, such as cervical, prostate, or skin cancer. When we have the opportunity to get out into public venues, we are able to not only screen people for the disease, but to educate them on the risk factors and signs and symptoms of it. The end result is that people can learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of the disease in its early stages, when it is most curable.”

Over 30,000 Americans are newly diagnosed with oral cancer annually. Of those, only half them will be alive in five years – that equates to a death rate of one person every hour of each day. The rates of oral cancer occurrence and death among African Americans are twice as high as they are among Caucasians. A common misconception about the disease is that it only affects smokers. New data shows that young, non-smoking adults are being diagnosed with the disease. In these non-smokers, the same sexually transmitted virus that causes 98% of all cervical cancers (HPV 16/18) appears to be the culprit.

Regardless of how one develops the disease, the message here is that if it is found early, the cancer is highly survivable, and that an annual screening for the disease should be part of everyone’s medical routine.

Dr. Mahvash Navazesh, Chair of the Division of Diagnostic Sciences at the school states, “Oral cancer is a life threatening disease. In its early stages it may not present with symptoms that are painful or obvious to the patient. Annual screenings by a qualified professional are essential to catching this killer early when the chance for survival is the highest.”

Rob Lynch, Procter & Gamble, Healthcare Brand Manager stated, “Our corporate motto is ‘touching lives, improving life’. What better way for Crest to do this than to go into a community, especially one that is underserved, and save lives by helping provide free oral cancer screenings by a dentist.”

Other corporate sponsors agree. Thanks to the generosity and corporate citizenship of Henry Schein, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, all dental supplies needed for these screenings are being donated to help the foundation in this effort.

Ms. Willie Cole, Public Relations Director for the Wal-Mart store that will be hosting the screenings commented, “Our community is underserved in many ways. I was pleased when our store was chosen for this event. Remember that many in our town cannot afford health insurance, and for economic reasons do not regularly see a doctor. An opportunity to receive a free health screening for this disease is important to them. We are going to do everything we can to get the word out that this event is taking place at Wal-Mart…these people are not just our customers, they are our friends, neighbors, and family.”

The Oral Cancer Foundation is involved with increasing national awareness of this disease through a variety of vehicles. Besides screening events, PSA Announcements are regularly played on TV networks around the country. Most recently they have featured actress Blythe Danner, whose husband, Bruce Paltrow died from oral cancer 2 years ago, and three-time Emmy winner and oral cancer survivor, Jack Klugman, who credits early detection for his survival of cancer and his subsequent return to stage and screen.

While not well known by the public, many famous people have battled oral cancer or lost their lives to it, including Brett Butler, Roger Ebert, Sigmund Freud, Ulysses S. Grant, George Harrison, Alan King, Babe Ruth, Aaron Spelling, Rod Stewart and Jim Thorpe, among others.

Helping to make this event possible are the following local sponsors: 100.3 The Beat, the number one urban radio station in the U.S., and the Wave Media Group, which includes local publications La Ola, Wave Publications, and Quick LA. newspapers