Penn Dental Medicine Oral Cancer Walk: April 24 |
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April 13, 2010,
Volume 56, No. 29
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On Saturday, April 24, the Penn Dental Medicine Oral Cancer Awareness Society will present the second annual Philadelphia Oral Cancer Walk to increase awareness about the disease within the dental community and surrounding Philadelphia-area neighborhoods.
The 3.1 mile walk, begins and ends at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 40th and Locust streets, rain or shine. Registration will start at 9 a.m. followed by the walk at 10 a.m. Free head and neck screenings for oral cancer are available, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and free refreshments and entertainment are available.
A minimum $20 donation is required to register or sponsor a participant in the walk. Survivors of oral cancer may walk free of charge as honored guests. All proceeds will benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation. Sponsors of the Oral Cancer Walk include Metlife; Proctor and Gamble; Johnson & Johnson; and The Oral Cancer Foundation.
According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, approximately 35,000 people in the United States will be newly-diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010, with 100 individuals being diagnosed each day in the US. The most common causes of oral cancer are smoking, alcohol abuse, and exposure to HPV-16 (human papilloma virus version 16).
Penn Dental Medicine students and members of the School’s Oral Cancer Awareness Society aim to increase the public’s awareness and knowledge of oral cancer with the hope of early detection and diagnosis. The Oral Cancer Foundation reports that the rate of survival in cases of early detection is 80 to 90 percent. When the cancer is discovered in later stages, the number significantly decreases to 45 percent.
Visit the Oral Cancer Foundation’s Philadelphia Cancer Walk page,
www.ocfstore.org/Philadelphia_Cancer_Walk_Registration_p/philly_registration.htm, to register for the event. |