Walk raises profile of mouth cancer

5:11am Wednesday 26th September 2007

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The Bradford founder of a charity set up to help mouth cancer patients is urging people to step out and save lives in 2007.

The Mouth Cancer Foundation was set up by Dr Vinod Joshi, who is a consultant in restorative dentistry at St Luke's Hospital, and the foundation will benefit from a 10km sponsored walk in London's Hyde Park on Sunday, October 14, starting at 1pm.

The walk is the first of a series of initiatives to raise awareness in the run-up to Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, from November 11 to 17.

People from all across the UK will step out to spread the word about the deadly disease in a bid to warn people that mouth cancer can strike anybody at anytime.

The event is being supported by Commonwealth and Olympic swimming champion Sharron Davies, who said: "I would urge everyone to join in the free mouth cancer awareness walk to help raise awareness for mouth cancer.

"Mouth cancers can be almost invisible, making them easy to ignore. The chance of survival is greatly improved if the cancer is detected early and treated rapidly.

"That is why it is crucial for the public to become more aware of the symptoms of this debilitating disease. By taking part in the mouth cancer awareness walk you will be literally saving lives."

Late detection means mouth cancer kills half of those people who are diagnosed, and someone will die from mouth cancer every five hours. The disease has a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma and up to a quarter of mouth cancers are not associated with any known risk factor.

Dr Joshi said: "If you notice a lump in your mouth that wasn't there before, or a mouth ulcer which lasts for more than three weeks, you should see a dentist or doctor immediately."

Other symptoms include a white or red patch on the gums, tongue or lining of the mouth, difficulty swallowing, chewing or moving the jaw, numbness in the tongue or other area of the mouth, a feeling something is caught in the throat, a chronic sore throat or hoarseness, swelling in the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly, neck swelling for more than three weeks, unexplained looseness of the teeth persisting for more than three weeks and swelling causing obstruction of the nose, particularly if associated with bleeding or pus discharge.

On the day of the walk there will be free mouth cancer screening in a mobile dental unit. To take part, visit www.mouthcancerwalk.org.uk e-mail: claire.lomax@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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