Gurnee Dentists Declare War on Oral Cancer in Lake County, Illinois

    GURNEE, IL, March 06, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Oral cancer affects 37,000 people in the U.S. each year; about one-half of those treated for oral cancer survive five years. 8,000 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to oral cancer. The poor survival rate and high death rate is due to LATE DIAGNOSIS. Oral cancer is easy to diagnose and treat, if discovered early, but there is no comprehensive program to screen for oral cancer which is why it so often is discovered in later stages.

Dr. Ira Shapira and Dr. Mark Amidei and their team at Delany Dental Care Ltd, 310 South Greenleaf, Gurnee are introducing an advanced diagnostic instrument to improve early detection of oral cancer. The VELSCOPE allows visualization based on tissue fluorescence an optical phenomenon that causes abnormal tissue to appear a different color. The VELSCOPE helps locate oral cancer and premalignant dysplasia.

Dr. Shapira and Amidei, and the Delany Dental Care Team, are offering free oral cancer screenings in their office at 310 South Greenleaf, Gurnee. Delany Dental Care (www.Delanydentalcare.com) recently moved into new offices after 27 years of serving Gurnee and Lake County patients in their Delany Road office. Screening will be offered during regular office hours, but when necessary, additional hours will be added to the schedule.

Please contact Delany Dental Care at 847-623-5530 to arrange an appointment for complimentary screening.

Over eighteen years ago, long before Delany Dental Care had the benefit of advanced diagnostic instruments, Dr. Ira Shapira suspected that CLC Professor Nancy Cook had squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue.

Nancy had gone to several dentists complaining of a furry white patch on the left side of her tongue, but all had told her that whatever it was, it wasn't important. The she overheard CLC Professor Martin Ley telling another faculty member about his "high tech" dentist, Dr. Ira Shapira. Worried because the white patch had not disappeared, Nancy decided to make an appointment with Dr. Shapira. Upon examining Nancy, Dr. Shapira immediately sent Nancy for a biopsy. His suspicion was corroborated; Nancy had oral cancer. Dr. Harold Pelzer, Chief of Otolaryngology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, performed surgery on her tongue, and Dr. Joseph Imperato, Chief of Radiation Oncology, Lake Forest Hospital, supervised six weeks of radiation therapy. Nancy credits Dr. Shapira and the Team at Delany Dental Care with saving her life.

Nancy was very pleased when Dr Shapira asked her to help win the war on Cancer and gave the above history in hopes of saving other patients.

Oral Cancer Information:

Oral cancer used to be found primarily in middle-aged and older Americans. However, due to the spread of the HPV virus (HPV 16), the fastest growth rate is occurring in younger adults, especially women. Cancers associated with HPV 16 do not always exhibit visible lesions or discolorations and are more difficult to diagnose. The VELSCOPE makes the detection of cancers caused by the HPV virus possible.

Early diagnosis and treatment can drastically cut the cost of cancer treatment, reduce the number of recurrences and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Presently, oral cancer discovered at later stages are 20 times more likely to develop a second cancer over the next ten years.

From Medline Plus (a service of the NIH (National Institutes of Health):

Oral cancer can form in any part of the mouth or throat. Most begin in the tongue and in the floor of the mouth. Cancer risk is higher for males, if you are over 40, use tobacco or alcohol, or have a history of head or neck cancer. Frequent sun exposure is a risk for lip cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 90% of oral cancers.

Oral cancer symptoms include:

- White or red patches in your mouth
- A mouth sore that won't heal
- Bleeding in your mouth
- Loose teeth
- Problems or pain with swallowing
- A lump in your neck
- An earache

Oral cancer treatments which cost approximately $3.2 billion per year in the U.S. may include surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy or a combination of the two.

The following iformation is about the upcoming Northern Illinois Cancer Walk. Dr Shapira and Dr Amidei wish to support this walk and encourage all Lake County residents to attend.

Northern Illinois Oral Cancer Walk
Join us on June 10, 2012
Register Now! Donate To This Event Event Details
Where:
Lake Arlington
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Starts: 06/10/2012 @ 8:00 am
Ends: 1:00 pm
Check-in Time: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Registration Cutoff: 06/08/2012 12:00 pm
Donation Cutoff: 06/10/2013 12:00 pm
Contact: Alison Stahl
Phone: 847-414-4919
E-mail Address:[email protected]

WELCOME TO THE INAUGURAL ILLINOIS ORAL CANCER AWARENESS WALK!

Members and friends of the Northern Illinois Dental Community are excited to host this groundbreaking event. Oral cancer, which includes the head and neck region, is taking more lives than many other cancers we routinely hear about; killing one American per hour! The most significant effort to reduce the death rate from oral cancer is coming from early detection and increased awareness of this disease. Our approximate 5-mile walk will aim to educate participants about many of the current facts and trends related to oral cancer and conclude with a free oral cancer screening. All proceeds raised will benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Alison Stahl, Event Coordinator.

PLEASE JOIN US, RAIN OR SHINE AS WE "SPREAD AWARENESS & SAVE LIVES"!

Start your own fundraising page or create a team!! An iPad 2 will be given to those who raise over $5,000 on their personal fundraising page!!! Prize will be sent directly from OCF!! So start your page today!! It's a great incentive while you are rasing money for the walk! Anyone raising over $3,000 will be eligible to win an Apple iPhone as well!

Walkers who register by 5/31/12 will receive an event t-shirt and other free promotional items.

Late registrations can be done until 6/8/12, after this date please register in person on day of event with cash/check/money order made payable to the Oral Cancer Foundation.

There will be a raffle and silent auction

Lake Arlington
2201 N. Windsor Drive
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

A excellent short video on Oral Cancer can be found at: http://bbemaildelivery.com/bbext/?p=land&id=B8C8FD3C8C566E53E040DA0AB3136B25

Dr Shapira has been a long term advocate of treating medical problems with dental solutions. In the 1980's he was a pioneer in the field of Dental Sleep Medicine, utilizing oral appliances to treat sleep apnea and snoring. He did research at Rush Medical Schoo'ls Sleep Disorders Center on the relation of jaw position to sleep apnea. He was a charter member of the original Sleep Disorder Dental Society which later became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recognizes Oral Appliances as a first line treatment (along with CPAP) for mild to moderate sleep apnea and as an alternative to CPAP for severe apnea when patients do not tolerate CPAP.

Dr Shapira lectured extensively in the 1990s to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and in 1998 had a chapter published in a textbook of Anti-Aging Medicine.

Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor of Sleep and Health Journal, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei. He has recently formed Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates. He is a Regent of ICCMO and its representative to the TMD Alliance, He was a founding and certified member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, A founding member of DOSA the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, A Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a graduate of LVI. He is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical School's Sleep Service where he worked with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who is a founder of Sleep Medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a consultant to numerous sleep centers and teaches courses in Dental Sleep Medicine in his office to doctors from around the U.S. He is the Founder of I HATE CPAP LLC and http://www.ihatecpap.com Dr Shapira also holds several patents on methods and devices for the prophylactic minimally invasive early removal of wisdom teeth and collection of bone marrow and stem cells. Dr Shapira is a licensed general dentist in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Dr Shapira recently formed the website www.ihateheadaches.org that is dedicated to treating chronic headaches and migraines with neuromuscular detistry.

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