Cathy Pope was a mouth cancer survivor with a reconstructed lower jaw. In June 2000 Cathy presented a Memorandum to the Select Committee on Science and Technology that spelt out three things that she saw as important:

• Patient education and early diagnosis
• Rehabilitation in the cancer journey
• Funding for research

In it, Cathy said:

quote:

In summary, I hope to speak for all oral cancer sufferers we need education on the risks of alcohol and tobacco, we need a screening programme to help promote early detection and patient awareness, and we need a national centre of excellence established as a priority.

I first met Cathy at a meeting of the Mouth Cancer Awareness Week steering group in April 2002. I had set up this Mouth Cancer website a few months earlier and she told me to keep up the good work. I have never forgotten this. She passed away last year but what she said will not be forgotten. The Mouth Cancer Foundation will work towards helping realise her goals.