Please join us for the 18th Annual Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week® (OHANCAW®), scheduled for April 12 – 18, 2015.

OHANCAW, organized by the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (HNCA), is a weeklong series of events promoting education and public awareness of head and neck cancers. The highlight of OHANCAW is a day of free oral cancer screenings held at participating medical and dental offices, centers and institutions throughout the country and overseas.

As you know, screening for and early detection of oral, head and neck cancer is now more important than ever. Oropharyngeal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is on the rise in younger adults without traditional risk factors, and is on track to overtake the rate of cervical cancer by 2020. We know that HPV positive cancer carries a better chance of survival than HPV negative if it’s caught early and treated early, making screening for every adult imperative.

The statistics are staggering and further underscore the need for worldwide screenings. Ac- cording to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, HPV prevalence in oropharyngeal tumors shot up from 16% during the 1980s to 73% during the 2000s. In 2014, it is expected that more than 120,000 people will be diagnosed with oral, head and neck cancers.

Participating in OHANCAW is a major step in raising awareness of this disease. Last year more than 14,000 individuals were screened and more than 1,300 of them were referred on for further evaluation. With your help, we can make a potentially life-saving difference in even more lives this year!

There are many ways to participate in OHANCAW. For more details, visit www.OHANCAW.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

#OHANCAW #SCREENTREATCURE