HPV infection on Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Day

From Radio New Zealand...."World Head and Neck Cancer Day is tomorrow and this year there's a push to highlight the correlation between these cancers and the HPV virus. 

These cancers are increasing at a faster rate than other cancers, so what is the connection and is it preventable? 

Jesse Mulligan was joined by Professor Swee Tan, an expert in the field, to tell us more." Click here to listen.

Canterbury DHB supporting World Head and Neck Cancer Day

Christchurch Hospital Cancer specialists, together with the Cancer Society Canterbury-West Coast Division, are raising awareness about early signs of head and neck cancers ahead of this year's World Head and Neck Cancer Day (tomorrow, 27 July).

The goal of World Head and Neck Cancer Day is to highlight head and neck cancers to the general public and support health professionals to increase their knowledge of early diagnosis and the treatment available.

Dr Robert Allison, Head and Neck Surgeon in Christchurch and past President of the New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, says head and neck cancers often go undetected because many people don't recognise the early warning signs and symptoms.

“We're supporting World Head and Neck Cancer Day in the hope it helps raise awareness of the disease and the signs to look out for because treatment is more likely to be successful and less invasive if symptoms are recognised at an early stage,” Dr Allison says. Read more here...

Plea for greater awareness of head and neck cancers

THE New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) called for greater awareness of head and neck cancers on World Head and Neck Cancer Day on Saturday, July 27.

Head and neck cancers are the fifth most common types of cancer worldwide, with more than one million new cases detected annually.

New Zealand has the world’s fourth highest incidence of oral cavity cancer, with about 500 new cases each year.

“Dentists have the training and the proximity to help in the detection of some head and neck cancers, particularly oral cancers, which is yet another benefit of regular dental and oral examinations,” said NZDA spokesperson Dr Ajith Polonowita, an oral medicine and oral pathology specialist. Read more here...

The vaccine that can prevent cancer

As well as including skin cancers, cancers of the nasal passages, salivary glands and other areas, the "head and neck" group also includes oropharyngeal cancers – those that affect the middle part of the throat.

Oropharyngeal cancers definitely aren't well known, but numbers of people affected by them are growing at an alarming rate – and the consequences of these cancers can be devastating. Read more...