Dentist offers free cancer screening

A free, oral cancer screening program is now available in Sisters. The project is being organized by retired periodontist and Sisters resident Dr. Rick Judy, who hopes to offer the screening once or twice each month.

The next screening is scheduled for Thursday, March 13, from 1:30 to 5 p.m., in the office of Dr. Brad Braman, at 354 W. Adams Ave.

The exam, administered by Dr. Judy, is very simple and takes only a few minutes. It includes feeling and palpitating the neck, lymph nodes and the tissues between the cheek and skin. Muscle areas and tissue under the tongue and throat are also checked.

"We also show people how to do this themselves," said Dr. Judy.

The screening is open to everyone, although Dr. Judy especially encourages those who do not regularly see a dentist to take the test. He also recommends the test for individuals who chew tobacco and sexually active teenagers and young adults.

According to Dr. Judy, most dentists look for oral cancer when examining their patients, but "in talking with my dental friends they do not necessarily tell you (the patient) that they have done an oral exam that involves cancer," said Dr. Judy. As a result few individuals are aware of the need for regular oral cancer screening.

In the past, according to Dr. Judy, men who were 40 and older who smoked or chewed tobacco and drank were statistically at the highest risk for the disease. Over the past 10 years these statistics, however, have changed.

"The human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted virus, is in 75 percent of all oral cancers," said Dr. Judy. "It is taking the 40-year-old men (statistic) and dropping it and changing it to sexually active teenagers and above who are now at risk for oral cancer," said Dr. Judy.

In his quest to bring awareness to the community, Dr. Judy has already spoken to four classes at Sisters High School and to the Sisters Rotary Club about the disease. Last week he offered a presentation for the general public at the Sisters Library, and he plans to speak with students at the middle school later this spring.

According to Dr. Judy, little press has been given to educating people about oral cancer. The public, through the media and politicians, is very aware of and alarmed by the number of men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq, says Dr. Judy.

"That number, I don't believe, has cut across 4,000 in five years, but there are 34,000 people diagnosed with oral cancer in our country every year. One dies nearly every hour of every day; between 7,000 and 8,000 will die this year," he added, noting that this number is three times greater than the number of Americans who die from cervical cancer.

Oral cancer progresses in three or four phases, depending upon definition. "When you get this disease identified in the first phase, you have an 80 to 90 percent success cure rate. If it's caught in phase two, three or four, you go to 50 percent or below," he said.