Warnings and information about the symptoms of mouth cancer to be including on millions of tubes of toothpaste and bottles of mouthwash in major health campaign.
Supermarket chain Asda’s own-brand oral hygiene products are being used to raise awareness of mouth and throat cancer. As part of a major new initiative in partnership with the NHS, packaging on products in more than 500 Asda stories across the UK will detail the early symptoms to look for and further information, with links to more on the NHS website.
Photo courtesy of NHS
Mouth cancer is the eighth most common form of cancer in the UK, according to data from the Mouth Cancer Foundation, with more than 11,700 new cases diagnosed each year. The disease is twice as common in men as in women, while 78% of cases occur in individuals over the age of 55.
Early diagnosis provides the best chance of successful treatment. The new campaign aims to save lives by raising awareness of what to look out for and encouraging people, where they spot such symptoms, to contact their GP or dental practice as soon as possible.
As the packaging explains, most of the listed symptoms are common and can be caused by other conditions but getting them checked by specialist healthcare professionals is the best way to be sure.
Symptoms that could indicate cancer include any of the following that last more than three weeks without healing by themselves:
- An ulcer
- A white or red patch in the mouth
- A lump or swelling in the mouth, jaw or neck
Other symptoms can include difficulty in chewing or swallowing or chewing, or moving in the jaw or tongue. Numbness in the tongue or other parts of the mouth, a sensation of something being stuck in the throat, a chronic sore throat or hoarseness lasting more than six weeks and unexplained loosening of teeth can also be possible signs of cancer.
Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, says: ‘Early detection of mouth cancer can help save lives and this fantastic new partnership with Asda will be vital in raising awareness of the signs and in supporting the NHS’s ambition to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage. By placing health messaging on products like toothpaste tubes and mouthwash bottles that people use every day, we’re encouraging people to be vigilant about potential symptoms of mouth cancer and to get checked early.
‘Like many other cancers, mouth cancers have a much better prognosis if found early – raising awareness is a crucial step, and while many of these symptoms won’t be caused by cancer, we’d encourage anyone with any concerns to come forward and contact their dentist or GP.’
Sam Dickson, Vice President for Commercial Strategy, Operations & Own Brand at Asda, adds: ‘We’re proud to launch this collaboration with the NHS by putting mouth and throat cancer awareness on our own brand oral hygiene products including mouthwash and toothpaste. Asda sells over 2m of these everyday items each year, so making this small change to our packaging means we can make a big difference in encouraging shoppers to be more aware and to highlight what they should do if they find any new or unexplained changes.’
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