• It kills one person every hour of every day in North America. 
• It has three times more victims than cervical cancer. 
• Nearly half of oral cancer patients are expected to die within five years of diagnosis. 

These are sobering statistics.  There is good news: caught early, the five year survival rate goes up significantly, to nearly 83%.  

High Tech Screening Device Aids in Early Detection

Our office has invested in a high tech electronic device that uses fluoresence visualization technology to aid us in early detection of oral cancers. The device, called the Velscope, is painless, non-invasive and involves no unpleasant rinses or stains.

It uses a safe blue light which excites the oral tissue, causing it to fluoresce, or “glow”.   Because normal tissue and abnormal tissue glow differently, we hope to discover possible cancers before they can be seen with the naked eye.  A recent study done by researchers at the University of Washington showed the Velscope to be a powerful tool in detecting abnormal tissue.

Am I at Risk for Oral Cancer?

A history of alcohol and tabacco use has traditionally been the most significant factor associated with people who develop oral cancers.  However, more recently, a large percentage of those affected have never smoked or used alcohol, and include an increasingly younger set of people.  The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is thought to be the reason.  (This is the same virus that has been found to cause cervical cancer.)