Many Still Unaware Of The Risk Factors For Oral Cancer
A survey carried out in the run-up to Mouth Cancer Action Month has revealed that many people are unaware of the main risk factors for oral cancer.
According to the poll, none of the 2000 participants were able to identify the four key risk factors for oral cancer, which include smoking, drinking alcohol, the HPV (human papilloma virus) and an unhealthy diet. An alarmingly large number of people believed that stress, poor oral hygiene and other health conditions increased your risk of developing the disease, which affects more than 6,000 people every year in the UK.
This month is Mouth Cancer Action Month and the British Dental Health Foundation is working with dental organisations and practices across the UK to try and raise awareness of oral caner, so that more people are aware of the causes and symptoms.
The latest figures show that the number of cases is increasing year on year, yet survival rates have stalled, as people are being diagnosed at a late stage when there is a high risk that the disease has already started to spread. Five-year survival rates are up to 90 per cent if the disease is caught early; however, if it is diagnosed at an advanced stage, the figure drops to just 50 per cent.
Dr Nigel Carter OBE, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said that it is worrying that none of the 2,000 survey participants were able to identify the four risk factors for oral cancer; he added that he hopes that the campaign will educate people and get people talking about mouth cancer so that they are able to spot the early warning signs. If you smoke and drink, you are up to 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.
The BDHF campaign, which is sponsored by Denplan, will run throughout the month of November.
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