Tony Colman MP backs Mouth Cancer Awareness Week

supporting Mouth Cancer Awareness Week

Mouth Cancer Awareness Week is a campaign to highlight the increasing threat posed by mouth cancer, running from 9 to 15 November, it urges the public to Watch Your Mouth, the theme of this year's event. The week aims to highlight to patients the importance of not ignoring warning signs of the disease but instead to take up their concerns with a dentist or dental hygienist.

Over 13,000 people in the UK either have, or are recovering from, mouth cancer. Incidences of the disease increased by 17 per cent between 1995 and 1999.

Early detection significantly increases the chance of surviving the disease. Patients who have the disease detected in its early stages are more than twice as likely to survive as those who have it detected later. Warning signs, such as persistent ulcers or red or white patches in the mouth, should not be ignored.

Tony Colman said,

"Mouth cancer may have a lower profile than breast or lung cancer, but that doesn't mean it is any less dangerous. Incidences of the disease are increasing. It is crucial that those who are concerned about mouth cancer seek help from a dentist or dental hygienist, because the earlier it is detected the better chance a person has of surviving. I fully support the aims of Mouth Cancer Awareness Week 2003, and urge people to ask their dentist to screen them for mouth cancer during their next visit."

13th November 2003