Sponsored walk a success

Around 400 people took part in the 10k walk, which was more than the organisers had expected. With monies still being collected, it is anticipated that the event will have raised £15,000 for the Mouth Cancer Foundation.

Oral cancer is one of the lesser-known forms of cancer. Dr Vinod Joshi, founder of the Mouth Cancer Foundation, commented that among younger people there is very little awareness of the disease. Often, young people associate mouth and neck cancer with smoking, although this is not always the case.

A team from the UCL Eastman Dental Institute took part in the walk, and participants were given free oral screening from the King's College London Dental Institute and the UCL Eastman Dental Institute's Oral Medicine department, operating from their mobile screening unit.

Raising awareness of oral cancers is vital to cutting its very high mortality rate. Currently, about half of people diagnosed with the disease die, largely because it is often spotted too late. This is higher than the rate for breast, cervical or skin cancer. There are currently 13,000 people in the UK with oral cancer.

• Links:
• Mouth Cancer Foundation
• UCL Eastman Dental Institute