Dear Friends and Fans, For the 6th year, I’m chairing the Oral Cancer Awareness Walk in Bethlehem, PA. There is a critical need that I work hard to meet. Everyone knows if they have a spot on their skin with irregular borders, or a lump in their breast, or blood in their urine…..they know what to do and what it …
Talk 4 Hope: Cancer Survivorship Stats
How many cancer survivors are there in the US? The American Cancer Society summarized the data: 14.5 million cancer survivors are alive in the Unites States 64% were diagnosed 5 or more years ago 15% were diagnosed 20 or more years ago 5% are younger than 40 and 46% are 70 or over In 10 years, it’s estimated that the …
Dental Education on Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer
The International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) 5th Annual Conference was held in NYC earlier this week. Over 3,500 medical professionals in head and neck oncology representing 65 countries were in attendance. The conference celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Head and Neck services. The keynote speaker was Michael Douglas (15 min presentation on YouTube) …
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Dental Implants Are “Cosmetic” After Head and Neck Cancer
I had one molar pulled before starting radiation for stage IV oral cancer. Over the years, I’ve had two more molars extracted. When I called my insurance company to find out if they will cover dental implants, they said they would only cover dentures. Why? ‘Implants are cosmetic.’ I didn’t occur to me to ask if they cover breast reconstruction after …
A Second Opinion for Oral Cancer Treatment
Once diagnosed with oral cancer, every survivor needs to obtain a second opinion about treatment options. Surgery and radiation with no chemo? Chemo and radiation with no surgery? How invasive is the surgery? How targeted is the radiation? How much chemotherapy? Hopefully, both opinion one seeks will be about the same. Then the choice becomes about which doctor the patient …