Oral Cancer from Both Sides

The below article was written by Lawrence A. Hamburg, DDS.  Dr. Hamurg is a dentist that was diagnosed with oral cancer.   He states in the article:

There are many ways to learn, but I wish I had not had to learn firsthand the experience of Stage IV oral cancer.  Seventy-eight percent of those diagnosed with Stage IV oral cancer are dead within five years. I’m lucky. I’m in remission.

Like Lou Gehrig, I feel I’m the luckiest man on the face of the earth — or, as I wrote in the Feb. 6, 2008 issue of Newslweek, ‘The luckiest person coming out of the 10th floor at Beth Israel’s head and neck cancer ward.’

Two years ago I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. Fortunately, I was able to save my tongue and vocal chords. I firmly believe I was spared so that I could speak to you, my fellow dentists, and convey a first-person message of how critical it is for you to screen your patients for this dreaded disease.

For the full article, click the PDF image to the left.

“Together we fight oral cancer. Together we save a life every hour.” – The Fight Oral Cancer Foundation