Oral cancer screenings find six cases of cancer
Six patients have been diagnosed with oral cancer following free oral cancer screening sessions in Cork and Dublin.
The screening sessions were held last September as part of a campaign to raise awareness of oral cancer and encourage people to look out for early warning signs of the disease. Screening clinics took place at Dublin Dental School and Hospital, the Irish Cancer Society and Cork University Dental School.
In Dublin, 1800 people attended screening sessions and 29 suspicious lesions were found; patients were referred for a biopsy and three cases of early cancer and two cases of established oral cancer were diagnosed. In Cork, of the 1,393 people who attended screening sessions, 49 people were referred for a biopsy and one case of cancer was diagnosed.
Oral cancer is becoming increasingly common and three people die from the disease every week in Ireland; however, many people are still unaware of the symptoms of the disease because oral cancer does not have a high media profile, like other forms of cancer, such as breast and testicular cancer.
Dentists and health bosses are eager to raise awareness of the disease and encourage people to look out for early warnings signs of oral cancer, which include white and red patches in the mouth, sores which take a long time to heal and unusual swellings or lumps in the mouth or throat. Dentists advise patients to attend regular check-ups so that they can detect and treat cases of oral cancer as early as possible; early diagnosis can improve survival rates by up to 90 percent.
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oral cancer r increasing day by day then any other oral lesions.In this situation it a great responsibility on the shoulders of dentist 2 make common people aware abt risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer for early detection of oral cancer and also from preventive point of view also.