Mouth Cancer Action Month is a charity campaign which aims to raise awareness of mouth cancer and save lives by promoting the values of prevention and early detection.

The campaign is about making everybody more mouth aware and in November, we will be highlighting the risk factors and signs and symptoms associated with the disease.

By communicating the causes of mouth cancer, we can encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce the number of people diagnosed with the disease.  It is also important that we can recognise the early warning signs so that we can act on any unusual changes in the mouth as soon as possible.

The importance of Mouth Cancer Action Month

In the UK, more than 8.300 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer last year and globally there are in excess of 300,000 new cases every year.

The number of people being diagnosed with mouth cancer has grown by around a third in the last decade and remains one of very few cancers which are predicted to increase further in the coming years.

Although risk factors (such as smoking and alcohol) are responsible for many mouth cancers, it is a disease that can affect anyone.

That is why it is so important we all know what to look out for.

• Don’t leave a mouth ulcer unattended for more than three weeks.

• Don’t ignore any unusual lumps or swellings or red and white patches in your mouth.

• Regularly check your own mouth, lips, cheeks, head and neck for anything out of the ordinary.

Visit mouthcancer.org