All You Have to Do is Open Your Mouth

Roswell Park to Offer Free Screenings During Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week

BUFFALO – Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Head and Neck/Dental Clinic will hold free screenings for oral cancer, Friday, April 16, from noon to 5 pm, at the University Presbyterian Church, 3300 Main Street, Buffalo, NY. This service is being offered during Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, commemorated April 12-18.

In 2009, there were an estimated 35,720 new cases of oral, head and neck cancers diagnosed in the United States; and approximately 7,600 Americans died. Oral, head and neck cancers include those of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and the nasal cavity and sinuses.

If diagnosed very early, oral, head and neck cancers can be more easily treated without significant complications, and the chances of survival greatly increase.

All adults should get screened because symptoms often go unnoticed. These can include:

• Red or white patches in the mouth that last more than two weeks
• Change in voice or hoarseness that lasts more than two weeks
• Sore throat that does not subside
• Pain or swelling in the mouth or neck that does not subside
• Lump in the neck
• Ear pain
• Difficulty speaking or swallowing
• Difficulty breathing

Screening takes only about 10 minutes and is painless. For more information about the screening program, call 716- 845-8186 or email Bridget.Bethea@roswellpark.org.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs both nationally and internationally. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.