7 November 2011

Students active for Mouth Cancer Awareness Week

Dental and Dental Therapy students from the University of Dundee will be highlighting the issue of mouth cancer next week - a disease in which Scotland has the highest rate of incidence in the UK.

The students will be active throughout Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, which begins on Monday November 7th.

'This is a major health issue across the UK and particularly in Scotland,' said Professor Graham Ogden, of the University of Dundee Dental School. 'Early detection and treatment of the disease is vital and more people need to be aware of the risks and what they can do to help prevent the disease.'

Oral cancer affects more people than testicular and cervical cancer put together. Therefore attending your dentist for regular check ups is the best way to ensure early detection and treatment of the disease. Early symptoms of oral cancer can include:

• Ulcers that do not heal in 3 weeks
• Red or white patches
• Lumps or overgrowths
• Numbness of the tongue or other areas of the mouth.

The dental students will be manning a stall every lunchtime next week at Dundee University Students Association where they will be highlighting the issues around mouth cancer to their peers and members of the public.

An interactive stall will be set out on the ground floor of the building, providing information about mouth cancer including signs, symptoms and risk factors of the disease.

'Smoking and alcohol are the two main risk factors for the disease, which is why it is so important to make young people aware of this, as mouth cancer can affect people of all ages,' said 5th-year student Alison Mackay (21), one of the students involved in the campaign.

'We will also be providing oral hygiene advice and diet advice and there will be staff members from Dundee Dental Hospital in attendance to answer any questions.'

The week will conclude with a fundraising night at Liquid nightclub in Dundee, tickets for which will be available from the stall. Proceeds from which will be donated to The Ben Walton Trust. This charity was set up by Mike Walton whose son, Ben Walton, died of mouth cancer at the age of 22. The aims of the charity are to raise awareness of the disease in the general public and to aid research into mouth cancer.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902