On May 31, 2006 I wrote a post about oral cancer screening.  I was contacted by a public relations person from Zila Pharmaceuticals by the name of Bill Sklar who shared a lot of facts with me on the subject. He also told me of a new test that is simple and easy to detect oral cancer and it is now on the market. The screening test is called ViziLite and it is FDA approved. I will be taking the test to see how simple and easy it is and will give a report about my experience on this blog. I would like to share some of the facts that were given to me about oral cancer.

• One American dies every hour of oral cancer.
• 25 percent of cases affect people with no known risk factors.
• 75 percent of cases are related to tobacco or alcohol use.
• Oral cancer is increasing among women.
• The 5-year survival rate is 57 percent, and the 10-year rate is under 50 percent.
• Oral Cancer is horribly disfiguring and painful, unless it's detected early.
• Oral cancer can be caused by HPV - transmitted through oral sex.
• Sigmund Freud, Babe Ruth, John Gotti and President Grover Cleveland had oral cancer.
• Cigar smoking increased 250 percent from 1993 to 1998, and heavy cigar use is particularly associated with oral cancer development.
• Marijuana appears to cause oral cancer, particularly in younger patients.

Arnold Rosenheck, DMD, Associate Dean, UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School says the annual cost for treating oral cancer in the U.S. is $2 billion, and when indirect costs are added in (rehab, lost wages, etc.), the figure balloons to $8 billion. The American Cancer Society estimates about 30,990 new cases (20,180 in men and 10,810 in women) of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2006. Roughly 7,320 people (4,910 men and 2,410 women) died of these cancers in 2005.