What do Michael Douglas & the month of April have in common? Well, April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month – and the number of cases of oral cancer is on the rise in America. Close to 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 36,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will be alive in 5 years. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades. The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cancers which we hear about routinely such as cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the testes, and endocrine system cancers such as thyroid, or skin cancer (malignant melanoma). If you expand the definition of oral cancers to include cancer of the larynx, for which the risk factors are the same, the numbers of diagnosed cases grow to approximately 50,000 individuals, and 13,500 deaths per year in the US alone. Worldwide the problem is much greater, with over 640,000 new cases being found each year. The death rate associated with this cancer is particularly high not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development.
While the leading causes of oral cancer have traditionally been tied to excessive/chronic alcohol & tobacco use, the number of oral cancer cases related to HPV (Human papillomavirus) – which is what Michael Douglas was diagnosed with – has begun to alarm both the medical & dental communities. Make certain to click on the link below to watch a video regarding a new state-of-the-art text which can help in testing for HPV-related oral cancer.
And yes, this test is now available at Pinebrook Dental…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42760279#42760279
