Mouth cancer awareness 'getting worse', charity claims

A new nationwide survey has revealed awareness of mouth cancer has continued to decline over the last three years.

The survey, commissioned as part of Mouth Cancer Action Month by the British Dental Health Foundation, questioned more than 2,000 people on whether they had heard of mouth cancer. Although 88 per cent of people said they had heard of the disease, this represents a fall of three per cent since 2009.

The lack of awareness is further emphasised by the number of respondents who are unaware of how deadly mouth cancer is. Only three per cent of people know mouth cancer claims more lives than testicular and cervical cancer.

Perhaps more worryingly, in a disease renowned for affecting men, awareness still remains an issue, with one in eight (12 per cent) unaware of mouth cancer.

Mouth Cancer Action Month, which takes place throughout November supported by Denplan and Simplyhealth, is hoping to raise awareness of the cancer. At current rates, the Foundation predicts that the number of mouth cancer cases recorded in the UK is likely to double within a generation. One in two people who contract the disease will die without early diagnosis. However, early detection of the disease can improve five year survival rates to 90 per cent.

The Foundation is calling on members of the public to follow the campaign’s unequivocal message of ‘if in doubt, get checked out’. With the support of thousands of dentists, doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals on hand to discuss any concerns the public may have, lives could be saved.

Dr Nigel Carter OBE, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: “Smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, poor diet, smokeless tobacco and, more recently, the human papilloma virus (HPV) are all risk factors which can contribute to mouth cancer. The number of cases of mouth cancer is continuing to grow. More women are contracting the disease and there's an increasing risk of younger people being affected, especially by HPV.

“Despite the predicted rise in mortalities and cases, there is not always a great deal of publicity surrounding it, so people just do not realise how common and dangerous mouth cancer is. This is why we run Mouth Cancer Action Month every November in the UK, raising awareness of the risk factors and what to look out for.

“As early detection plays such a pivotal role in survival rates, it is really important that everyone knows the warning signs for mouth cancer. They include ulcers which do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth and unusual lumps or swellings in the mouth.”