The Surrey Newton Rotary Club in collaboration Pacific Oral Heath Society offered a free Oral Cancer Screening Clinic for the community on Sunday, September 11, 2016.
The clinic was open from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the new Pacific Oral Health Center building located at 15850 24 Avenue Surrey.
Goal of the event was to reduce the barriers to oral cancer screening and the prevention and early detection of oral cancer and pre-cancer.
Why is oral cancer screening is important: Some of the highest oral cancer rates in the world are in South Asian countries due to habits such as chewing betel quid and smokeless tobacco, in addition to smoking and alcohol use. Data from the BC Cancer Registry has shown a much higher incidence of oral cancer in South Asian women and men, than in the general population.
Post Event Media Release by Surrey-Newton Rotary Club. Special thanks to Mr. Harjinder S. Thind pic.twitter.com/FDaaJXCRTu
— Sandy Y. Jhand (@SandyJhand) September 14, 2016
South Asians currently account for 10% of the population in BC and with anticipated further immigration a corresponding increase in oral cancer is expected. It is timely to increase public awareness and is a great opportunity to provide an oral cancer screening intervention and community awareness program tailored for this high-risk population.
Rotary Background: The Rotary Club of Surrey-Newton, District 5050 was founded in 2010, and has successfully supported local and international projects.
