
Head and Neck Cancer Day
By DTA | 27th July 2022 | News
Every year more than 12,000 people in the UK are given the news they have head and neck cancer. It is a cancer that causes a significant physical and emotional toll and often leaves survivors with a low quality of life.
Sadly, awareness about head and neck cancer remains low, leading to far too many cases being caught too late.
Dental and health professionals are in an ideal role to raise awareness about the disease, including the risk factors and signs and symptoms. Today is World Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Day and the Oral Health Foundation is asking you to help share messages about head and neck cancer with patients and your wider community.
How can you get involved
To make sure people know more about head and neck cancer, we need to share the information and educational materials on:
- Knowing how to spot head and neck cancer early and regularly checking for unusual changes in the mouth, neck and head.
- Understanding what is likely to cause mouth cancer and reducing your risk.
- Acting quickly when you see something out of the ordinary by visiting your dentist
Please share advice on head and neck cancer and signpost patients to local support groups. Information is available on the Oral Health Foundation's website.
You could also show your support through social media. Here's the sample you could put along with a social graphic or get creative and come up with the text of your own:
'I am supporting World Head & Neck Cancer Day by doing a self-check for signs of the disease. Learn how to do a head & neck cancer check at www.dentalhealth.org/spotthesigns .'