Cancer. Why is it that so many of us dare even speaking this word aloud? It’s almost as if we think that we’ll become a victim if we say it. After all, cancer is NOT contagious.*
Perhaps it should be referred to as ‘The Disease That Shall Not Be Named.’
The good news. Cancer detection is improving all the time. Treatments have advanced so much that many forms of cancer, which would once have considered to be fatal, can now be treated, with very high survival rates.
But what about mouth cancer. Here are some facts:
This year, 6000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with mouth cancer.
Without early detection, half will die.
Mouth cancers often don’t present with any symptoms at early stages.
But, early detection improves survival chances to 90%.
As dentists, we are ideally suited to screen for signs of mouth cancer. We perform a full screen on all of our members at regular intervals. And the even better news is that we have now invested in a Velscope early detection tool.
The Velscope system has been officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an innovative device that addresses global health concerns and is the only dental product recognised.
With a Velscope, a blue light fluoresces the tissues of your mouth which allows us to see diseases not visible with the naked eye. It helps us to discover oral diseases before they can be seen under normal light.
There are no rinses or dyes involved. The whole procedure only takes a few minutes.
So, from now on, we will be using the Velscope regularly for our practice members.
But, what if you’re not a member? Just give us a call and we’ll happily give your mouth a full screen for the signs of any disease, including cancer. We can give you dietary advice and brochures with much more information about the causes of mouth cancer and how best to try to minimise the risks.
And how much will this cost? Nothing! This one’s on us. Of course, if you want to, you can donate to the charities that we are currently supporting.
* Cancer.org