The Seven S's of Early Detection for Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancers
Dennis M. Abbott, D.D.S. April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. Each year, I make an extra effort during the month to participate in activities related to raising awareness about and promoting the early detection of oral and oropharyngeal cancers outside of the lectures I give throughout the year. Yesterday, I was honored to be a part of one such event: the Oral Cancer Foundation’s Walk/Run in Dallas, Texas. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of participating in these OCF Walks from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to San Antonio, Texas; and at every event, I am humbled by the stories of hardship and struggles of cancer treatment as told by oral cancer survivors and their families. There are, unfortunately, many who still believe that oral cancer is something they will never have to worry about since they do not use tobacco or drink alcohol. Such naiveté could not be further from the truth! Oral and oropharyngeal cancers no longer affect only older men with a social history of s
