The Oral Health Foundation have teamed up with The Swallows Head & Neck Cancer Support Group to provide support and information for carers and survivors at The North of England Head & Neck Cancer Conference.

The two charities are coming together for the conference on Friday November 11 at the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool.

During the event Dr Chet Trivedy, Trustee of the Oral Health Foundation, will be offering oral health checks with a visual mouth cancer examination¹ to help raise awareness and knowledge of the signs, symptoms and causes of mouth cancer.

Speaking on the event Dr Trivedy said: “Many of the people at the event will have had first-hand experience of living with the effects of head and neck cancer and understand the major impact that it can have on people even when they beat this terrible disease.

“Mouth cancer can affect the most basic elements of people lives by contributing to major problems with breathing, swallowing, eating and drinking. The ability of people to speak can also be dramatically affected and even lost.

“It goes far beyond physical problems too, as these issues can contribute to depression, difficulties with communication, low self-esteem, social isolation and even severely impact on relationships

“This event will be taking place in the middle of Mouth Cancer Action Month, an annual campaign organised by the Oral Health Foundation to raise awareness of the signs, symptoms and causes of mouth cancer.

“Mouth cancer is one of the few types of the disease which is increasing in incidence and mortality rates and having the ability to reach out to the public at events like this to spread messages of awareness is vital in addressing the continuing effects of mouth cancer.

“We are delighted to be attending the event and supporting The Swallows support group as they continue their excellent work.”

Chairman of The Swallows support group, Chris Curtis, spoke about the aims of the event: “At the event we will be showing our support for cancer survivors and challenging them to try and achieve more in spreading awareness of head and neck cancers.

“This is important as when it comes to mouth cancer an early diagnosis can dramatically increase the chances of a positive outcome. Being able to identify the signs and symptoms of the disease and quickly could mean the difference between surviving or not.

“We want people to understand that anybody can get mouth cancer, although traditionally linked with smoking and drinking to excess one of the key reasons that cases are increasing is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This is something which most people will have at some stage of their lives so it is important that everybody knows the risks.

“This event also offers an excellent selection of world renowned speakers^2,3 who will be aiming to inspire attendees to spread awareness of survivorship.

“With incidences of mouth cancer rising by a third in the last decade alone our work is becoming even more important, by coming together with the Oral Health Foundation during Mouth Cancer Action Month we hope to reach more people than ever before.”

If you are interested in attending The North of England Head & Neck Cancer Conference, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/head-and-neck-cancer-surviving-and-overcoming-challenges-patient-and-carers-conference-tickets-27095653830 for more information.

Notes

1. Oral screening will take place in the main foyer of the museum and as such be available to everyone who comes through the door not just the cancer delegates.

2. International speaker from South Africa Ross Dawes a former professor in Head and Neck cancer and a Head and Neck cancer survivor

3. Renowned speaker Chris Moon (http://www.chrismoon.co.uk/) in 1995 he was blown up in a supposedly safe area of a minefield in remote East Africa losing an arm and a leg. He survived initially because he treated himself. About fourteen hours after injury he arrived in South Africa where doctors said they’d never seen anyone live with such a small amount of blood. He recovered three or four times faster than was expected, was out of hospital in less than two months and within a year of leaving hospital ran the London Marathon, raised significant sums to help disabled people in the developing world, worked to ban landmines and successfully completed a full time Masters Degree.

Chris taught himself to run again and is the world’s first amputee ultra-distance runner. In 1997 he completed the gruelling Marathon De Sables and inspired many to follow in his footsteps. Since then he’s run the world’s toughest ultra- marathons, including the Badwater Death Valley 135 mile ultra and the 95 mile West Highland Way Race. He’s run numerous ultra-distance events and several one thousand mile events. When it comes to challenging the concept of limitation, adapting to change and overcoming adversity he literally walks the talk. Chris is a veteran adviser to the NHS on state-of-the-art prosthetics and has been involved with many charities in roles including President, Trustee and fundraiser. Chris was awarded an MBE for his work in demining and in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was given the honour of carrying the Olympic Flame into the stadium at the opening ceremony of the Nagano Winter Olympics.