smoking – Page 14 – Oral Cancer News

Men in doubt still don’t get checked out!

Source: www.easier.com Author: staff Men are almost twice as likely to die from mouth cancer and statistics consistently show they are less likely to consult with a doctor than their female counterparts. But with rates of incidence and mortality rising at an incredible rate, men can no longer afford to ignore the increasing threat of a killer disease. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have almost doubled in the last decade, rising to 6,000 every year with almost 4,000 of those coming from men and although there are some clear early warning signs many postpone seeking professional advice, leaving fatality rates of the disease at 50 per cent. This is supported by data from the Office of National Statistics, which reveals that women are twice as likely to see their GP as men, visiting the doctors an average of six times a year compared to just three for men. Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, puts this failing down to a lack of general cancer health knowledge in men and warns that ignoring the issue can lead to severe problems in future. Dr Carter said: "For almost all types of cancer, men will die more often than women. There's no biological reason that this should be the case so the reason must be purely down to the timing of diagnosis. Unfortunately, when men do go to their GP their condition may be at a far more advanced stage and therefore much more difficult to treat. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-27T14:52:41-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Obama hits Big Tobacco over labels opposition

Source: www.cbsnews.com Author: staff President Obama — pronounced tobacco-free in his latest medical checkup — has tough words for cigarette makers. Some tobacco companies, he says in a new White House web video, are fighting new cigarette warning labels because "they don't want to be honest about the consequences." The video, provided to The Associated Press in advance of its release, observes Thursday's 36th "Great American Smokeout" by the American Cancer Society. Mr. Obama says the country has made progress in reducing the number of Americans who smoke, but notes that 46 million are still addicted. "The fact is, quitting smoking is hard," he says. "Believe me, I know." Mr. Obama has fought the habit by chewing nicotine gum, and his last medical report, issued Oct. 31, declared him tobacco-free. "Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable early deaths in this country," Mr. Obama says in the video. "We also know that the best way to prevent the health problems that come with smoking is to keep young people from starting in the first place." In 2009, Mr. Obama signed legislation to help keep young people from lighting up. In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved new warning labels that companies would have to place on the top half of cigarette packs. Some of the labels are powerfully graphic and include images of a man exhaling cigarette smoke through a tracheotomy hole in his throat, the corpse of a dead smoker, diseased lungs and a smoker wearing an oxygen [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-18T09:13:15-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Although Most Smokers Want to Quit… Only a Fraction Actually Do

Source: The Wall Street Journal Author: Betsy McKay More than two-thirds of American smokers want to quit, but only a fraction actually do, underscoring a need for more services, messages, and access to medications to help them kick the habit, according to a new government report out today. Nearly 69% of adult smokers wanted to quit in 2010 and more than half tried, but only 6.2% succeeded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who try to quit can double or triple their chances with counseling or medications, but most of those who did try to quit in 2010 didn’t use either. Nor did they receive advice on how to quit from a doctor. The findings suggest more needs to be done to help smokers quit — particularly certain segments of the population with low quit rates, said Tim McAfee, director of the public health agency’s Office on Smoking and Health, in an interview. Nearly 76% of African-American smokers wanted to quit last year, and 59% tried — well above the national average, said McAfee. But a mere 3.2% succeeded, which is the lowest rate among measured races and ethnicities. American smokers with college degrees had a far higher rate of success at quitting — 11.4% — than smokers with fewer than 12 years of schooling, who had only a 3.2% success rate. Still, McAfee said, there are some encouraging signs. For example, the percentage of young adults between the ages of 25 and 44 who want to [...]

Charlotte Parker2011-11-11T15:22:32-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

E-Cigarette Controversy

Source: The New York Times If you want a truly frustrating job in public health, try getting people to stop smoking. Even when researchers combine counseling and encouragement with nicotine patches and gum, few smokers quit. Recently, though, experimenters in Italy had more success by doing less. A team led by Riccardo Polosa of the University of Catania recruited 40 hard-core smokers — ones who had turned down a free spot in a smoking-cessation program — and simply gave them a gadget already available in stores for $50. This electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, contains a small reservoir of liquid nicotine solution that is vaporized to form an aerosol mist. The user “vapes,” or puffs on the vapor, to get a hit of the addictive nicotine (and the familiar sensation of bringing a cigarette to one’s mouth) without the noxious substances found in cigarette smoke. After six months, more than half the subjects in Dr. Polosa’s experiment had cut their regular cigarette consumption by at least 50 percent. Nearly a quarter had stopped altogether. Though this was just a small pilot study, the results fit with other encouraging evidence and bolster hopes that these e-cigarettes could be the most effective tool yet for reducing the global death toll from smoking. But there’s a powerful group working against this innovation — and it’s not Big Tobacco. It’s a coalition of government officials and antismoking groups who have been warning about the dangers of e-cigarettes and trying to ban their sale. The controversy [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-08T13:22:07-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Kids get graphic anti-tobacco message

Source: www.chroniclejournal.com Author: staff Though it’s hard to understand Gruen Von Behrens’ speech, his message could not be clearer. The cancer survivor, who lost much of his neck, chin and tongue to the disease, is on a Northern Ontario high school tour to tell the story of how his chewing tobacco addiction impacted his life. Von Behrens, who started chewing tobacco (also known as dipping) at the age of 13 and was diagnosed with cancer at 17, spoke to hundreds of students in the cafeteria at Thunder Bay’s Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute on Wednesday morning. He said that many young people start smoking or chewing tobacco to look cool. Addressing the crowd, he asked, “How cool will you look? “I want everyone in here to take a good long look at my face,” he added, pointing to his disfigured features. “I was very naive about what tobacco could do to me.” The Thunder Bay District Health Unit sponsored Von Behrens’ speaking engagements in partnership with the Northwest Tobacco Control Area Network and Regional Cancer Care. Steve Tomé, youth engagement facilitator with the health unit, said that the use of chewing tobacco is 10 per cent higher in Northern Ontario than the rest of the province, so the unit wanted to send a message to students that dipping is no safer than smoking cigarettes. “(Von Behrens) has got a great story that high school students can relate to,” Tomé said. Von Behrens, now 34, has undergone 30 surgeries with at [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-15T06:01:01-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Screen carotids after head and neck radiation

Source: www.oncologyreport.com Author: Neil Osterweil, Oncology Report Digital Network Head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation should be screened routinely for carotid artery stenosis, investigators recommended at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Among 225 patients who had received radiation and were screened, an estimated 18% had significant asymptomatic stenosis (50% or greater narrowing) of one or both carotid arteries 3 years after treatment said Dr. Jennifer Dorth, a resident in radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "We recommend screening for head and neck cancer patients given that there are high rates of stenosis as well as high rates of progression of stenosis," she said. Factors significantly associated with risk for stenosis included Framingham risk factors (smoking history, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular/peripheral vascular disease, and atrial fibrillation) and radiation dose. The investigators retrospectively reviewed outcomes of asymptomatic, disease-free head and neck cancer patients who had received radiation with curative intent to the neck. The patients were screened with carotid Doppler ultrasound at or after the 1-year follow-up visit, and this was repeated every 2-3 years. Patients with ultrasound evidence of 50% or greater stenosis were referred to vascular surgery. The study identified 225 patients, 139 of whom had received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), with the dose calculated separately for each side of the neck. Because of the separate treatment planning, the investigators analyzed the data by creating two separate models: one looking at all patients, and the other looking at [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-15T05:25:58-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Is oral sex more dangerous than smoking?

Source: www.yourtango.com Author: TresSugar Oral sex might be the new smoking. New research has found that oral sex may cause more cases of throat cancer in men than smoking thanks to HPV transmissions. In 2004, HPV caused 2.6 cases of throat cancer per 100,000 people, compared to .8 cases per 100,000 people in 1998. At this rate, by 2020 HPV will result in more throat cancer in both men and women than cervical cancer. What's making the rate go up? A higher rate of going down. Cancer researchers told the New York Times that younger people are having more oral sex because they think it's safer than intercourse. In addition to increasing awareness about the risks associated with oral sex, there may be another solution already available. The HPV vaccines currently recommended for girls could probably help prevent throat cancer when given to boys. Vaccine companies would have to test the drugs for that purpose specifically, and then health professionals would have to convince parents to vaccinate their boys against HPV. But maybe that would be easier than it's been to vaccinate girls against a potentially deadly, yet common STD, since society doesn't have the same hang-ups with male sexuality.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-15T05:12:30-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Using mouthwash can increase cancer risk for smokers

Source: www.independent.ie Author: Eilish O’Regan, health correspondent Smokers have been warned to stay away from mouthwash – as it might increase their risk of developing mouth cancer. The combination of smoking and drinking alcohol has been established as increasing the risk of the disease. Now researchers have warned that may apply even to the alcohol contained in mouthwash. They pointed out that, while the link between the use of mouthwash containing alcohol and the cancer is not firmly established, it is best avoided or limited in use by smokers. The risk was examined by researchers led by dentist Dr John Reidy and colleagues in the Royal College of Surgeons and St James’s Hospital in Dublin. Around 400 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year in Ireland with two people a week dying from the disease. Symptoms include red and white patches on the lining of the mouth or tongue, a mouth ulcer that does not heal or a swelling that lasts for more than three weeks. The most effective way of preventing mouth cancer is to quit smoking and limit consumption of alcohol, say experts. The researchers said they were concerned about the effects the alcohol in the mouthwash had and it was therefore “prudent” to restrict its use by smokers who are considered “high-risk” for mouth cancer. Around three-quarters of mouth cancers arise due to a patient both smoking and drinking, according to the study in the Journal of the Irish Dental Association. -

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-08-24T08:50:11-07:00August, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Life After Tongue Cancer, & a Total Glossectomy

Source: UCSF Medical Center Author: Sierra Tzoore Tongue cancer is uncommon, and it's especially unusual for it to strike a young person who doesn't smoke or drink heavily. Kate Brown was just 32 years old, recently married and beginning a new job, when she learned that a spot on her tongue was stage III tongue cancer. Brown was referred to UCSF Medical Center, where surgeons recommended a drastic treatment that was her best shot at survival: a total glossectomy, or tongue removal, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Four years later, Brown is cancer-free and, unlike many patients who undergo total glossectomy, able to eat and speak understandably. We asked Brown about her treatment and path to recovery. How did you discover you had tongue cancer? A small sore appeared on my tongue when I had a sore throat. I took antibiotics for the sore throat, but the spot was still there after the sore throat subsided. I then started to have ear pain and the sore got larger. I was prescribed antibiotics again. When my doctor looked in my ear she didn't see any swelling, but the earache became unbearably painful. I'd never been in pain like that. In my heart of hearts, I knew at that point that something was terribly wrong, but I wasn't sure what it was. I decided to see another doctor, who referred me to an ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. Ivor Emanuel at California Pacific Medical Center. Dr. Emanuel's specialty is allergies but I think [...]

Charlotte Parker2011-08-22T12:33:47-07:00August, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

New labels may not go far enough

Source: www.denverpost.com Author: Rhonda Hackett How far would you go to stop a killer? Smoking continues to kill more Americans every year than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and the single greatest driver of health-care costs in Colorado. Despite concerted efforts over recent years to educate people about the dangers of tobacco use, 46.6 million American adults smoke, while kids alone are responsible for roughly $2 billion in annual cigarette sales revenues. More than 400,000 people die every year from tobacco use (4,300 in Colorado), while an additional 50,000 adults die as a result of second-hand smoke exposure. More than 8 million Americans currently suffer from tobacco- caused illnesses, resulting in an estimated $96 billion in public and private health care expenditures each year. In Colorado, the tab is about $1.3 billion per year. Simply put, tobacco is the single most lethal and costly legal commodity available in America today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now followed the lead of other developed nations by requiring cigarette packages carry graphic warning labels. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said at a White House briefing, "We want kids to understand smoking is gross - not cool - and there's really nothing pretty about having mouth cancer." Critics of the warning labels cite the fact that smoking is a legal activity and as such products associated with it should not be subject to government mandate discouraging use. The Institute [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-07-03T09:03:04-07:00July, 2011|Oral Cancer News|