Brian's story, could be your story:
His story should stress to us all that oral cancer can sadly affect all of us. The fight against oral cancer is challenging and complicated and many do not realize the risk factors. Fortunately for him, Brian's dental hygienist detected an abnormality and acted quickly to get him the diagnosis and life-saving treatment he required. How often do you get an oral cancer screening?
Do you know what the early stages of oral cancer look like?
Detecting the disease in the early stages is key to improving the survival rate. A visit with a dental hygienist could save your life!
The 2021 Gift from the Heart campaign will provide free oral cancer screenings as a measure
of prevention and early diagnosis, resulting in the best hope for survival.
According to www.cancer.ca in 2020, an estimated:
• 5,400 Canadians will be diagnosed with oral cancer
• 1,500 Canadians will die from oral cancer.
Dr. Manu Dua, was diagnosed with oral cancer in July 2019. Here, he shares his innermost thoughts about his journey: receiving his diagnosis, his extremely complicated surgery, and how he’s handling his road to recovery.
Dr. Manu Dua was a general dentist in Calgary. He graduated from UBC in 2012.
"We spend most of our professional lives diagnosing, treating and healing other people. However, sometimes in constantly treating others, we become immune to the fact that someday those conditions may affect us. When that day comes, we realize not only are we not immune but also that our lives are fragile and precious, and we need to stop and appreciate what we have, for soon it may be gone".
He passed away Sunday March 14, 2021 at the age of 34.
https://www.dentaltown.com/magazine/article/7822/doctor-heal-thyself
Did you know that three Canadians die every day from oral cancer? In fact, more people die from oral cancers than either cervical or skin cancer. And because two-thirds of oral cancers are discovered in the late stages of the disease, the prognosis is often poor. When discovered late, the 5-year survival rate is a frightening 55% – yet when discovered early, this rate increases to as high as 90%. It is imperative, therefore, that oral cancer is detected early, before the disease advances. That’s why we keep a keen eye for telltale signs like lumps and discoloration and conduct oral cancer screenings when you visit.
The first step in prevention is awareness.
Did you know…?
•After decreasing for over 20 years, the incidence (new cases) rate of intra-oral cancers increased by 3.4% per year from 2003 to 2013.
• The increase in intra-oral cancers has been driven mainly by rising rates of oropharyngeal cancer, which is tied to increasing rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection
• Registered Dental Hygienists are trained to recognize abnormal changes in the mouth and refer to a specialist for follow up. Registered Dental Hygienists can also provide health promotion and disease prevention education on risk factors for oral cancer such as tobacco use and HPV infection.
• When oral cancer is detected in early stages, the survival rate improves; however, millions of Canadians avoid visiting a dental professional due to cost every year. Millions of Canadians may have oral cancer and not know it until it is too late. The Gift from the Heart Charity wants to change that and believes no Canadian should go without access to essential preventive oral cancer screenings and oral health care due to cost or any other barrier. When Canadians have access to Registered Dental Hygienists, oral cancer can be caught early, risk factors can be reduced, and lives can be saved.
By helping Canadians who cannot normally access a dental professional the positive impacts of our program include lower health care costs achieved through disease prevention and early intervention and the creation of barrier-free supportive environments for Canadians.
