Cancer Screenings Being Offered Thursday

 

The New Jersey Dental Schoolat UMDNJ is providing free oral cancer screenings Thursday, May 9 from 9 am to 7 pm. The screenings will be held at the D-Level Clinics, 50 12th Ave.

Oral cancer is a major health risk that often goes undetected until it has reached an advanced stage.

“In its earliest form, oral cancer appears as red and white spots in the mouth. At this stage, it is easily eliminated and successfully treated,” says Dr. Arnold Rosenheck, DMD, associate dean at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–New Jersey Dental School (NJDS). “However, if these spots are allowed to progress, treatment becomes more difficult and survival rate goes down. Early treatment allows for a high degree of cure.”

At the screening event, licensed dentists and residents from NJDS will conduct free, comprehensive oral examinations that take less than 10 minutes to complete. Each participant will receive educational material and oral hygiene products.

In conjunction with that event, the Essex-Passaic Wellness Coalition, sponsored by UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, will hold its annual health fair in the dental school pavilion.  Among the fair participants is UMDNJ-University Hospital’s Screening Access of Value to Essex (S.A.V.E.) Women and Men program, which will offer free cancer education and breast and cervical screenings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and prostate screenings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for persons eligible through the New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection screening program (N.J.C.E.E.D.).  For more information or to schedule an appointment for breast and cervical screenings, please call 973.972.7007.  For more information or to schedule an appointment for prostate screenings, please call973.972.0254.

Many organizations, will be present to answer questions and educate attendees on a wide range of health topics, such as the American Cancer Society, Birchwood Adult Day Care, HealthyNJ and the UMDNJ George F. Smith Library, Horizon NJ Health, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Saint Barnabas Cancer Program, Saint Michael’s Medical Center’s “In the Pink” Program, Susan G. Komen for the Cure North Jersey Affiliate, and UMDNJ’s Division of Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine.

For more information on the oral screening, call 973.972.4635. No registration necessary for individuals, but groups wishing to schedule an appointment should call 973.972.0651.  For more information on the health fair call the office of Stanley H. Weiss, MD in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at 973.972.4623.