oral cancer foundation

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|

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|

A great company teams up with great employees to raise money for Oral Cancer

As a result of a great company and their employees, at a second annual 5K run and two mile walk for Team Berry at a local event this year in South Carolina, their efforts have raised more than $2,900 which was donated to the Oral Cancer Foundation to be used for oral cancer research. Sixty-four employees, spouses and children of Berry Home Centers and Berry Iron and Metal Company participated in the 5K and walk this year, more than double the participants last year, because the companies were running for a cause. Both were running for Jeremy Blevins, 42, who passed away Aug. 3 after a courageous battle with oral cancer, and his family. Jeremy is the nephew of Tom and Kyra Bishop who own Berry Home Centers and Berry Iron and Metal Company and also the nephew of Steve Kegley, Kyra’s brother and manager of the Abingdon Berry Home Centers’ store. Berry’s offered to donate $20 for every mile walked or run by employees in this year’s race to the Oral Cancer Foundation in Jeremy’s honor. Employees completed a 145.1 miles during the 5K and 2 mile walk, so Berry’s donated $2,902 to the Oral Cancer Foundation as a result. Jeremey Blevins wife, Shelley Blevins, pictured above with their son, Bise, and friend, is also coordinating the inaugural Oral Cancer Foundation Run For Awareness in Memory of Jeremy Blevins on Saturday, February 1, 2014. The event will take place at Springmaid Park located at Baxter Village. Please visit the [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-11-05T11:25:04-07:00November, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cancer survivor advocating for men’s HPV awareness

Source: The Tampa Tribune (tbo.com)By Mary Shedden | Tribune Staff Published: July 28, 2013 LUKE JOHNSON/STAFF David Hastings, the co-owner of Gulport's Habana Café, has testified in front of Florida legislators and officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since becoming a volunteer patient advocate with the Oral Cancer Foundation. Seven years ago, David Hastings got the worst news of his life. He had oral cancer, and a grueling series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments would be necessary if he wanted to survive. Undergoing months of the "barbaric" treatment was awful, he said, but so was the knowledge that five different doctors couldn't explain how a 56-year-old with no history of smoking or heavy drinking ended up with such an aggressive cancer. "If something is trying to kill you, don't you want to find out what it is?" the Gulfport accountant and business owner asked over and over. It took months, but Hastings learned his cancer was linked to HPV, the sexually transmitted virus long known for its connection to deadly cervical cancers. The answer was elusive because few scientists at that time were looking at the virus and male cancers, he said. Today, doctors know that about 5,600 cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year are tied to the human papillomavirus, a number increasing at a rate faster than that of tobacco- or alcohol-related oral cancers. That's likely because more hospitals and cancer centers, including Moffitt Cancer Center, are able to test for the male [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-30T15:44:15-07:00July, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

The New Face of Oral Cancer

Source: nursing.advanceweb.comBy Jonathan BassettPosted on: April 22, 2013 For decades tobacco was the primary cause of oral cancer but a more insidious culprit has emerged. Jerry Wilck had no reason to suspect anything. Why would he? He only smoked for a couple of years and gave it up more than 40 years ago. He didn't drink excessively, didn't have a family history of cancer, and took good care of himself. In fact, maybe the only reason the 59-year-old consulted an oral surgeon about the small sore on his tongue - the result of a habit of running this particular spot along his teeth - was that there happened to be such a specialist right there in his office. Wilck was a general practice dentist in Langhorne, Pa., and particularly attuned to anomalies of the soft tissues of the mouth. His oral surgeon took no chances and ordered a biopsy. Wilck was "floored" the night in March 2005 when the lab report arrived by fax from the oral pathology department at Temple University in Philadelphia - squamous cell carcinoma. Wilck immediately consulted with John Ridge, MD, PhD, FACS, chief of head and neck surgery at Temple's Fox Chase Cancer Center. After surgical removal of part of his tongue and lymph nodes from his neck, along with a round of physical and speech therapy, Wilck is now cancer free and has full use of his jaw, throat and voice. "I was lucky," confessed Wilck, who retired from practice in 2009 and now spends a [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T12:26:21-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Health Experts Praise Michael Douglas For His Oral Cancer Revelation

June 3rd, 2013 7:20pm EDTSource: starpulse.com Health experts have commended Michael Douglas for speaking out about link between throat cancer and oral sex. The 68 year-old actor, who endured a six-month battle with the illness, hit headlines over the weekend when he voiced his belief that his cancer was caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus, which can be contracted through oral sex. The Behind The Candelabra star told Britain's The Guardian newspaper, "Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus... I mean, I did worry if the stress caused by my son's incarceration didn't help trigger it. But yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it." Douglas' frank admission has now won him praise from Brian Hill, executive director of Oral Cancer Foundation, who tells the New York Post, "I'm really quite proud of Michael saying this. This (oral sex) is not an aberrant sexual behavior. But the willingness to talk about this openly can be difficult." The actor recorded a public service announcement for the Oral Cancer Foundation last year. *This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T11:43:06-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News|

The Man’s Guide to HPV

Source: Men's HealthBy: Melaina Juntti What men can do about HPV Michael Douglas caught major flak for saying oral sex gave him throat cancer. But if you're laughing, it's time to grow up. Oral cancers caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) have skyrocketed 225 percent in the past 15 years, with men accounting for 75 percent of all cases. The number-one culprit: HPV passed via oral sex. It used to be that cigarettes caused most of these cancers. But since smoking rates have plummeted over the past few decades, and we're having way more oral sex today than even our fathers' generation, HPV has become the most common STD in the U.S. – inevitably leading to more oral cancer cases. It only takes one time going down on someone to contract HPV, and experts estimate that 80 percent of us will be exposed to the virus at some point in our lives. This STD sometimes causes genital warts, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's not very common. In most cases, HPV has no symptoms. And since no test exists to detect HPV in guys, you won't know you have the virus until years later – if it turns into cancer. "It's very hard to determine when you acquired HPV," says Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. "It doesn't usually come from just one sexual episode. That said, every once in a while, cancer develops within [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T11:35:49-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News|

Michael Douglas: Oral sex gave me cancer

By DAVID K. LISource: NewYork PostLast Updated: 11:31 AM, June 3, 2013Posted: 8:49 PM, June 2, 2013 Michael Douglas has made a jaw-dropping revelation about his throat cancer: He didn’t contract it from smoking or drinking — but from oral sex. The Oscar-winning Hollywood star set tongues wagging after he told The Guardian newspaper that he contracted HPV, or human papillomavirus, through a sex act and it developed into cancer. “Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus,” he told the British newspaper in an interview published yesterday. After Douglas was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness in 2010, he said on “Late Show with David Letterman” that the kind of cancer he had was caused by smoking and drinking. Ghetty Images Actor Michael Douglas said a virus from oral sex, not booze and cigarettes, gave him throat cancer. In yesterday’s interview, the 68-year-old actor speculated that his son Cameron’s legal woes may have borne some responsibility, too. “I did worry if the stress caused by my son’s incarceration didn’t help trigger it,” the “Wall Street” actor said of Cameron Douglas, who is serving 10 years in a federal prison for heroin possession and distribution. “But, yeah, it’s a sexually transmitted disease that causes [the] cancer.” A cancer-awareness advocate hailed Douglas for his blunt talk. “I’m really quite proud of Michael saying this,” Brian Hill, executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation, told The Post yesterday. “This [oral sex] is [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-03T09:50:47-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Dental groups dispute Consumer Reports cancer screening story

Source: http://www.drbicuspid.comBy: Donna Domino, Features EditorDate: April 5, 2013 The dental community is up in arms over a recent Consumer Reports article that claims oral cancer screening is one of several medical tests that are overrecommended and unnecessary for all but high-risk patients. The article, which appears in the March 2013 issue, concluded that "most people shouldn't waste their time" on most diagnostic tests, including chairside visual screenings for oral cancer. "Most people don't need the test unless they are at high risk, because the cancer is relatively uncommon," Consumer Reports wrote. But the ADA and the Oral Cancer Foundation vehemently disagree with the magazine's conclusions, asserting that visual screening can result in earlier diagnosis of oral cancer and other oral diseases. The Consumer Reports article recommends only three cancer tests -- cervical, colon, and breast -- as worthwhile, and includes oral cancer screening among "eight to avoid" tests: ovarian, pancreatic, testicular, prostate, bladder, lung, oral cavity, and skin cancer. The magazine said its ratings were based mainly on reviews from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Early diagnosis critical According to Consumer Reports, the medical community has "systematically exaggerated" the benefits of screening while downplaying the harms, such as unnecessary radiation and biopsies. The ADA quickly registered its disappointment with the recommendations and sent a letter -- co-signed by the American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology -- to the editors of Consumer Reports, noting that noninvasive visual and tactile oral cancer screenings are typically included in oral exams [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-04-23T15:24:32-07:00April, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Painting for the Oral Cancer Foundation

With a desire to help in spreading awareness for oral cancer, Anita McGinn-Natali, a Fine Art Painter from Pennsylvania, donates her original framed and ready to hang oil paintings to Oral Cancer Awareness Walks. Funds collected will benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation. In October of 2007, Anita’s husband, Clark, was diagnosed with oral cancer. Anita was her husband’s caregiver during his treatments and recovery. Two years later,she found the Oral Cancer Foundation online and began to participate in the Forums, whose contributors include patients, caregivers, as well as family and friends of patients. “Discovering the Oral Cancer Foundation website during a challenging time in my husband’s recovery, was gratifying. The information available and the support I received were life savers for me. “I spent hours on the website educating myself about this disease. As a participant in the Forums, I had started out asking questions with others helping me,” Anita says. No long after she was offering support to other patients and caregivers. “It is a unique community of people from all over the world who have the unfortunate common denominator of oral cancer.” Since September 2011, Anita has donated her original oil paintings to three OCF Walks for Awareness: David Nasto in New Jersey (Susan Nasto Lauria); San Antonio (ElizabethSikon); and Colorado (Susan Cotten) Currently, there are 18 Walks for Awareness held throughout the United States. Participants can receive a free oral cancer screening, meet others whoselives have been touched by oral cancer, and be inspired by the work the Oral Cancer Foundation is doing to bring awareness to this debilitating and life changing disease. “I wanted to find a way to give back to this organization that has been such an important part [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-04T11:39:46-07:00February, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|