Cancer ‘still doesn’t change lifestyles’

Mouth Cancer Action Month

More than 20 million people wouldn’t change their lifestyle even if they knew someone with mouth cancer, according to new research.

More than three in ten (31 per cent) said they wouldn’t change their lifestyle, which includes tobacco use, drinking alcohol to excess, poor diet and the human papillomavirus (HPV), often transmitted via oral sex.

The survey also revealed one in four (25 per cent) believe they are at risk from mouth cancer, a disease that claims almost 2,500 lives a year – one every four hours – in the UK.

The statistics reinforce the scale of the lack of awareness around mouth cancer. Throughout November Mouth Cancer Action Month, run by the British Dental Health Foundation, sponsored by Denplan and supported by Dentists’ Provident and the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), aims to raise awareness of the risks and symptoms of mouth cancer.

Cases of mouth cancer have increased by 50 per cent since the turn of the millennium, so ulcers that do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches and unusual lumps or swellings in the mouth should not be ignored, as they are all potential warning signs.

Regular check-ups can be vital in spotting early life-saving signs of this disease. If it is caught during the early stages survival rates can reach as high as 90 per cent. Without early detection, the Foundation, alongside fellow mouth cancer campaigners the Mouth Cancer Foundation, warn half of people will die.

Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, stressed the importance of making the right lifestyle choices.

Dr Carter said: “The choices we make have a significant bearing on our health. Your risk, or otherwise, is very much dependent on your lifestyle. The number of people who wouldn’t change their ways despite knowing the lifestyle could result in developing mouth cancer is flabbergasting.

“Mouth cancer affects the way you speak, the foods you can eat, the way you look and your quality of life. Survivors often recall how difficult the basic everyday functions we take for granted become. Hopefully their stories can prompt people to make a change and reduce their risk.”