Dear All

:soapbox: Mouth Cancer Awareness Week is from 9th-15th November.

The RDOC homepage has been updated to support this year's Mouth Cancer Awareness Week's "Watch your mouth!" theme with Denplan poster adverts and BDHF Campaign Ribbon advert .

There is a special BDHF Page with details on the MCAW campaign ribbon, helpline and leaflets, with a handful of direct links to different BDHF web pages .

There is also a separate DenPlan Page with details on the free poster sets with clear images and contact information .

There is also a separate page for MCAW Regional Activities that lists known MCAW-related events taking place . If you are organising or know colleagues in the UK who are organising a MCAW-related event, please let me know.

I hope you like the website's new look for this year's MCAW and do your bit to increase an awareness of Mouth Cancers to your work colleagues, friends and family.

It is surprising how little is known about mouth cancer:
In a UK study, oral cancer was one of the least heard of cancers by the public with only 56% of the participants being aware, whereas 96% had heard of skin cancer, 97% lung cancer and 86% cervical cancer. New research indicates that only 6% of people living in the West of Scotland are aware of oral cancer :yikes: .

Best wishes

Vinod :coffee:

Hi Vinod
Thanks for the mention on your MCAW page, we are sending pins to Tony Blair, Robert Kiloy Silk, Lorraine kelly, (Sally Keeble, Tony Clarke both are M.Ps for Northampton) and Anne Kirkbride (Dedrie from Coronation Street) as she had Cancer of the Neck, with covering letter:

I wonder if you would consider helping in our cause, promoting Face, Neck & Oral Cancer awareness, you are probably aware there are very few support groups for such, everyone knows of the more �popular� type of Cancers, i.e. Breast, Testicular & Prostate Cancers, but little is known of ours, it will be Mouth Cancer awareness week 9th � 15th November, therefore this year our group decided to launch an awareness pin (please find enclosed) plus clothing with the Face � Fax logo, we would be very honoured if you would wear the pin as often as is possible.

Yours truly,

Mr Derek Connor
Face - Fax
Communications co-ordinator
www.facefax.org.uk


An extract from: www.mouthcancerawareness.org

Self-awareness is the key to early detection
Cancer can occur in any part of the mouth, tongue, lips and throat. Mouth cancers have a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma. The mortality rate is just over 50%, despite treatment, with about 1,700 deaths per year in the UK. This is because of late detection. There has been a 17% increase in cases from 3,673 (1995) to 4,304 (1999). An increasing number of young people are being affected and 25% of the cases have no associated significant risk factors.

:soapbox: Hopefully that should get us noticed.

Just thought I would let you know my plans for Mouth Cancer Awareness Week.

Hopefully my story about my tongue cancer diagnosis and treatment should be appearing in a national newspaper around the time of MCAW. I am also doing a collection at Loughborough Students Union on 7th Novemeber. I have also ordered MCAW posters which are being placed around the university and some of which I will place around my home town of Shrewsbury. I also intend to write an email containing a bit of information about Mouth Cancer, my situation, MCAW, and provide some useful links, which I hope to circulate to as many people as possible! I have also recently found out that Leicester Royal Infirmary Maxillio Facial unit (where I was treated) are holding a walk in clinic on November 13th (I think!) Finally I am trying to write my personal story for this website to be posted before MCAW.

If anyone has anymore suggestions I would be happy to hear them!

There was an Early Day Motion ( EDM 1883 )on 06.11.03 regarding MOUTH CANCER AWARENESS WEEK by MP Doug Naysmith. Only 6 signatories so far :banghead: !

quote:

---

That this House notes that Mouth Cancer Awareness Week 2003, Watch Your Mouth, is from 9th to 15th November; congratulates the British Dental Health Foundation, the British Dental Association and other leading health organisations in publicising and hosting the Week; expresses deep concern that mouth cancer is now the fastest growing type of cancer, with the number of incidences rising by 17 per cent. in four years and with 1,700 deaths every year attributable to the disease; notes that smoking, chewing tobacco and drinking are the major risk factors associated with mouth cancer; further notes that early detection by a dentist is crucial in improving survival chances from 50 per cent. to nearer 90 per cent; calls on the Government to ensure that mouth cancer has a bigger priority in tobacco cessation and alcohol abuse public awareness programmes; and urges the Government to offer primary care trusts, local health boards and individual dentists increased provision for mouth cancer screening services, which is properly funded and not allowed to be used to pay off NHS debts.

---

We need to get our MPs :duh: to support this EDM.
Any ideas, gang !

Best wishes
Vinod :coffee: :coffee:

quote:

---

Just thought I would let you know my plans for Mouth Cancer Awareness Week.
Hopefully my story about my tongue cancer diagnosis and treatment should be appearing in a national newspaper around the time of MCAW.

---

Clare, your story appears in the Daily Telegraph today .

The article in the Sunday Telegraph was really good! Although it wasn't quite what I expected. There was also I piece in the Leicester Mecury, last week. If you visit www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk and search for Clare Jones the article should come up.

Last Friday me and quite a few friends collected money in Loughborough Students Union to be donated to the Maxillio-Facial unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary. (where I was treated) We wore Mouth Cancer Awareness T Shirts and we got a lot of response from people some of whom wanted to know more. Im not sure how much we raised yet, but will let you know soon.

There is also going to be an article published in the university magazine on Friday about Mouth Cancer Awareness Week.

I have also sent an email, which explains a little about myself and a little about mouth cancer awareness week, with a link to this website, which I forwarded to everyone in my address book. I believe a lot of them have also forwarded to people and so on. I understand that it has had a huge impact and has even reached Canada and the Bahamas! I would strongly recommended this to people as an idea to raise awareness. I am in touch with Loughborough university to hopefully send a similar email to all the staff and students at the university.

Hopefully I should be doing an interview for bbc radio wales this week and for my local paper the Shropshire Star.

I am also helping the maxillio-facial unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary with their walk-in clinic on Thursday.

Hi Clare

You are doing a great job - just like super girl. Did you have any pictures of you and your friends modelling the MCAW t-shirts? Might catch on! Do keep us posted of the works of SuperClare !

The online article 'DIAGNOSIS TURNED MY LIFE ON ITS HEAD AT 19' was pretty good. The story in the press is often not what one expected . It was a good thing you you saw a specialist and had the biopsy -even so, there was a lapse of 11 months from the time you noticed an ulcer! Would you have done anything different if you had been aware of how mouth cancers can present?

Keep up the good work and don't forget to tell them that of the Mouth Cancer Awareness website


Best wishes
Vinod :coffee: izza:

Thank you! I do have a photo of us with the MCAW T Shirts on. Would you like to me to send it to you? I have just found out that we raised �562.62!!! on friday in Loughborough Students Union The Students Union RAG Committe helped us organise this collection and they do this for a choosen charity each week. I belive that we raised a record amount on Friday! The record previously was �350.

Well done Clare

Regarding the Early Day Motion ( see above ) regarding MOUTH CANCER AWARENESS WEEK by MP Doug Naysmith:
There are now 26 signatories so far

Good work, Clare.

Thank your friends from us for taking the time. Look forward to receiving your MCAW photograph.

Also send me a copy of your email.

Best wishes
Vinod :coffee:

Regarding the Early Day Motion ( see above ) regarding MOUTH CANCER AWARENESS WEEK by MP Doug Naysmith:
There are now 41 signatories so far
(29 Labour Party, 3 Conservative Party, 5 Liberal Party, 2 Plaid Cymru , 1 Ulster Unionist Party , 1 Independent ).

Please ask your MPs to support the motion. I have asked my mates and the Sun to help stimulate them. Hope it works!

Update: Regarding the Early Day Motion ( see above ) regarding MOUTH CANCER AWARENESS WEEK by MP Doug Naysmith:

There are now 60 signatories so far
(43 Labour Party, 4 Conservative Party, 8 Liberal Party, 3 Plaid Cymru , 1 Ulster Unionist Party , 1 Independent ).

Please ask your MPs to support the motion. Use this MP contact list .

Tell your friends about MCAW and ask them to email their MPs too. It is working!

Dear All

Someone asked if it was too late to support Mouth Cancer Awareness Week.

No, it is not too late to be part of MCAW:

In addition to doing things like what Clare and the others are doing, there are several simple things you could do:

You could:
(1) ask your MP to support the Early Day Motion regarding MCAW http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=1883

(2) print out the MCAW posters http://www.rdoc.org.uk/denplan.html and put them in a prominent place in your school or workplace (with permission)

(3) talk to your friends about Mouth Cancer Awareness, and the risks associated with paan chewing and tobacco use http://www.rdoc.org.uk/tobaccorisk.html.

(4) email your friends about MCAW to raise their awareness with a link to http://www.mouthcancerawareness.org

(5) support the RDOC website by joining the message board and telling us about your activities .

Best wishes

Vinod :coffee:

Hi Vinod

I have just written to my MP asking hime to support this motion. The link to MPs was useful.

Many thanks.

Pauline