Free Head and Neck Cancer Screening

UNC Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery is sponsoring a free head and neck cancer screening in honor of head and neck cancer awareness week.

What are the warning signs of oral cancers?

The signs and symptoms of oral cancer often go unnoticed. However, there are a few visible signs associated with these cancers that require immediate attention, including:

• A sore in the mouth that doesn’t heal or that increases in size
• Persistent pain in the mouth
• Lumps or white or red patches inside the mouth
• Difficulty chewing or swallowing or moving the tongue
• Soreness in the throat or feeling that something is caught in the throat
• Changes in the voice
• A lump in the neck

Who should be screened?

Every adult. Tobacco and alcohol users traditionally have been considered the populations at greatest risk for these cancers. However, oral cancer cases are on the rise in younger adults who do not smoke, and recent research indicates this development is due partly to the increase of the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV-related oral cancers are more difficult to detect because these cancers usually occur on the back of the tongue or on the tonsils, providing even more reason to get screened regularly.