Press: News
Release date: 30.01.2012
Cancer survivors face poor quality of life
Up to half of all head and neck cancer survivors face a diminished quality of life, even after five years of survival.
That is according to a recent study1 undertaken by the University of Iowa, which concluded that a large percentage of long-term survivors of head and neck cancer have poor oral function, resulting in persistent eating problems and long term depression.
More than half of respondents (51.6 per cent) reported problems with eating, while on average one in four survivors still experienced speech problems who lived for five or more years.
It was a similar story when it came to a patient's physical and mental health, with more than a third (36.7 per cent and 39.3 per cent respectively) recording low functionality after the five year analysis.
Mouth cancer campaigners have recently estimated 6,000 people in the UK contracted the disease in 2011, and while early detection can transform survival rates to 90 per cent, without it one in two will die.
According to Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, the study highlights the problems mouth cancer sufferers face.
Dr Carter said: "The results of the study show the scale of the problems mouth cancer patients have to live with. The corrective surgery required to remove cancerous cells often leaves physical and emotional scars that can take years to heal.
"While all cancer patients require a great deal of care, those recovering from mouth cancer clearly suffer from the after-effects of surgery, both physically and mentally."
While Dr Carter also suggested the results show patients need as much support from the health service as possible, a loophole in the NHS means problems may be compounded, as mouth cancer patients have no guarantee that their restorative dental treatment will be paid for by the NHS.
As a result of this loophole, campaigners are calling for the inequality to be put right in the new commissioning arrangements for NHS dental contracts to make sure that mouth cancer sufferers are exempt from dental charges. An e-petition form2 has been established to seek professional and public support, and is sufficient signatures are obtained it will prompt debate of the issue in the House of Commons.
Dr Carter added: "Supporting the e-petition will not only bring the issue into the public limelight, it will help to improve the quality of life for mouth cancer patients."
---ENDS---
Editor's notes
1. Gerry F. Funk, MD., Lucy Hynds Karnell, PhD., and Alan J. Christensen, PhD; Long-term Health-Related Quality of Life in Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer; Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg; Published online January 16, 2012; doi:10.1001/archoto.2011.234
2. The E-petition is available here.
Release date: 30.11.2011
Patients want mouth cancer checks
The majority of patients visiting their dentist would like to
be checked for mouth cancer, the results of a new survey have revealed.
The findings showed that nine in ten patients (88 per cent) would like to be checked for the disease. Despite the public's desire to be checked for cancer, only one in seven people (14 per cent) indicated their dentist had explained the risks and symptoms of mouth cancer to them.
The British Dental Health Foundation estimates that around 90 per cent of dentists regularly check for mouth cancer, but only a small percentage discusses the issue directly with their patients.
Read the full story here.Release date: 28.11.2011
HPV vaccination change welcomed
The British Dental Health Foundation has welcomed the
Government's decision to change its Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
vaccination from ‘Cervarix' to ‘Gardasil' from September 2012.
Leading oral health charity, the British Dental Health Foundation, has welcomed the Government's decision to switch the HPV vaccination from Cervarix to Gardasil from next year. The Foundation believes the new vaccine will bring wider health benefits, including the prevention of genital warts.
Read the full story here.Release date: 28.11.2011
New virus implicated in head and neck cancers
A common virus has
been discovered as a cancer-causing virus, according to American scientists.
The breakthrough comes as USC’s Laboratory for Developmental Genetics confirmed the human cytomegalovirus (hCMV), a herpes virus found in the mouth, acts as a catalyst for salivary gland cancer and could have a role in the development of other cancers, including mouth cancer.
Read the full story here.Release date: 23.11.2011
Men in doubt still don't get checked out!
Mouth cancer cases in the UK have almost doubled in the last decade, rising to 6,000 every year with almost 4,000 of those coming from men and although there are some clear early warning signs many postpone seeking professional advice, leaving fatality rates of the disease at 50 per cent.
Read the full story here.Release date: 22.11.2011
Science and technology offers hope in
the fight against mouth cancer
During Mouth Cancer Action Month the British Dental Health Foundation has spoken to one of the UK’s leading researchers about how research and technology will support the fight against mouth cancer over the next two decades.
Stephan Feller, Principal Investigator of Head and Neck Cancer Research Group at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), spoke to the Foundation about the advances made in technology and the importance of the next 10 to 20 years in making strides to beat the disease.
Read the full story here.