Join us as we cheer on the Columbus Crew in their match against the New England Revolution. Joan’s Foundation partner and 10-year oral cancer survivor, Jeanette Ferguson, PhD, will be our “Home Town Hero” performing the National Anthem.

Date & Location

Saturday, July 20, 2013    7:30pm
Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio

Participation Fee: $30
(includes entrance to the match, a Joan’s Foundation T shirt, and a tailgate party)

Register:

RSVP here.

While eye-opening, these findings are not altogether surprising. Hospitals and cancer centers that see more head and neck cancer patients have more experience treating the disease and with how it reacts to those treatments.  Typically, they also have a team of doctors from a variety of disciplines equipped to deal with the specific complexities of treating head and neck cancers.

This is not to say that lower-volume hospitals are not providing adequate care. In fact, the study showed that both high and low-volume facilities were equally meeting the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s guidelines for cancer treatment. The study simply suggests that when it comes to actual survival rates, higher-volume hospitals and cancer institutes saw more success. Whatever the indications, this is valuable information to consider for anyone seeking head and neck cancer treatment.

We are truly lucky to have such a wonderful facility as the OSU James Comprehensive Cancer Center here in Columbus. The James is one of the leading cancer institutions in the nation and one which we support and work with very closely at the Joan’s Foundation. Their groundbreaking research continues to save lives and improve the care and treatment of cancer patients all over the world. We are proud to be partnered with such an outstanding and cutting edge institution.

Click here to read the full article.

HPV-related cancers have continued to rise in recent year and have been striking the most unsuspecting victims.

‘We are seeing a large number of patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer and these patients are relatively young, are typically non-smokers and quite often have children,’ says Dr. Robert Haddad, chief of head and neck oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in an interview with the Daily Mail.

On the fortunate side, HPV-related head and neck cancers are much easier to treat than those linked to drinking or smoking. In fact, 75% of cases are curable. However, treatment of head and neck cancer can still be painful and often times disfiguring. The best way to combat this increasingly wave of HPV-related head and neck cancer is to continue raising awareness of the issue and to encourage more people to get the HPV vaccine.

It is our hope that as technology continues to advance and techniques of treatment and prevention improve, we will be able to eliminate HPV-related head and neck cancers as a threat.

Read the full article here.

U.S. Bank is one of largest dental practice solution providers in the country. Partnering with dentists in all of the 25 states they service, U.S. Bank is able to help finance, grow and improve dental practices.

Josh met with Joan’s Foundation Board Members late last year to discuss the objectives and vision of the Foundation.

“After reflecting on our initial discussion,” Riley said,  ”I knew that not only did participation in [Joan's Foundation] echo U.S. Bank’s commitment to building strong vibrant communities, but that there was a synergy between Joan’s Foundation and our practice finance division that could be leveraged to help achieve the overall goal of the foundation (early detection, treatment and ultimately, elimination.)”

Additionally, Josh’s family used to own a small dental supply company in Central Ohio. His first-hand knowledge of the dental industry, his contacts in the dental community and his deep commitment to raising head and neck cancer awareness will be a great asset to the organization.

“I hope that I can one day reflect on my participation with the Foundation and know that I helped put an end to a stage 4 diagnoses,” Riley said.

With the help of Josh and the team at U.S. Bank we hope to reach out to even more doctors, dentists, and hygienists this year and increase awareness of this truly horrible disease. Josh has taken up our cause with great enthusiasm and we are very grateful and excited to have him on board.

The VELscope is an adjunctive mucosal visualization tool; essentially, a special fluorescent light used to examine the soft tissue in the mouth for signs of oral abnormalities and dysplasia. The light from the scope makes the entire mouth fluoresce the color green. Dark patches in the mouth indicate areas where the tissue has changed and could potentially be pre-cancerous. VELscope examinations are quick (usually about 2 minutes), require no rinses or chemicals, give off no radiation or discomfort, and generally only run between $15-$25 per exam. Most importantly, unlike other examination methods, it is able to detect what the naked eye cannot see and create an image of it, that can be referred to other doctors and dentists for assessment.

The technology behind VELscope is not new. In fact, it has been used as a method of detection for various other types of cancer, mostly lung cancer, for about twelve years. According to LED Dental’s Ebon Turner, it was only until about six years ago that “some very innovative individuals” decided to look into what other cancers it could be used for.

Oral, head and neck cancer is now the sixth most common type of cancer in the world, and one that is notorious for going unnoticed until it is too late. In fact, sixty-six percent of the time, oral cancers will be found as late stage three and four diseases. Because many of these cases are not be detected early enough, nearly half the victims die within five years.

These sobering statistics are what led to the development of the VELscope.

“It’s normal for people to see their doctors for a variety of other annual screenings, why not an oral health screening?” Turner said.

Ebon and his colleagues at LED Dental have been very supportive of the Joan’s Foundation and our mutual cause, helping spread the word to their customers all over Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. It is his goal, as well as our’s, to raise awareness in the public about the importance of this issue. The more technology and information is available, the more people will begin to demand these services from their dental professionals and take more responsibility for their oral health.

In an interview with DrBicuspid.com, PeriRx co-founder and cardiologist, Dr. Jack Martin explained that, unlike fluorescence-based imaging technologies, this molecular marker test provides objective results without leaving subjective decisions to the dentists.

“The other tests require a lot of judgement by the practitioner about the color of lesions,” Dr. Martin said. “Our test produces a quantitative result with test scores that helps decide who needs to have a lesion biopsied right away because of the high chance of malignancy versus lesions that just need to be watched. So you’re not doing a lot of unnecessary biopsies on people who don’t need it.”

Head and neck squamous cell cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide. When detected early, the survival rate is about 90%, but most U.S. cases are not discovered until stage 3, when the survival rate drops to about 43%.

The PeriRx test has already been approved for sale in the European Union, and is in the early stages of clinical trials in the United States. The trials are slated to end next September, with a U.S. launch following in January 2014.

We often reiterate that dentists are on the front line of defense against oral, head and neck cancer. One of our main goals at the Joan’s Foundation is to educate the dental community and provide them with the knowledge and resources to save smiles, save lives and catch oral cancers before they become life-threatening. Innovations in oral health screening, like PeriRx, help make the obsolescence of these types of cancers possible.

Click here to read the full article.

(Prerequisite: Best Practices in Oral Cancer Screening and Diagnosis)
7 CEUs

Date & Location:

Friday, May 24, 2013
9:00am – 4:00pm (Doors open at 8:30am)
The Venue at Dock580
580 N. 4th St, Columbus 43215

Tuition: $475 for members only
*includes continental breakfast, lunch and free parking

Presented by:

Meade Van Putten, Jr., DDS, MS, Associate Professor
Director of Maxillofacial Prosthodontics
OSU College of Dentistry

Matthew Pinsky, DDS, MD
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Register here.

It is now easier than ever to help Joan’s Foundation beat head and neck cancer. Just visit Kroger’s Community Rewards page to register your Kroger Plus Card. Simply enter one of the codes below and start shopping! With every purchase you make, Kroger will make a donation toward our cause.

Thank you for supporting the Joan Levi Bisesi Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology Research!

Head and neck cancer the fifth most common cancer in the US. Despite these figures, head and neck cancers aren’t talked about as often as they should be. That’s why one of the primary missions of the Joan’s Foundation is to increase public awareness about these types of cancer.

90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (a type of skin cancer), originating from the mucosal lining of the lips, mouth, nasal cavities, paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx.

The good news is that head and neck cancers are highly curable if detected early Early detection saves lives! Dentists are often the front line of defense against HNC. That’s why it’s important to ask your dentist about an oral health screening today.

For more information on head and neck cancers, visit the National Cancer Institute.

22 foursomes of dentists and Joan’s Foundation supporters will play in the inaugural Saving Smiles! Saving Lives! Golf Outing.

Thanks in large part to our chief sponsor Betzel Wealth Advisors for their incredible contribution to this event.

Benefiting the Joan Levy Bisesi Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology Research
In association with the Joan’s Foundation Dental Partners
Fred O. Sakamoto, DDS, Honorary Chair

Date & Location:

Friday, May 17, 2013
11:00am Registration
12:30pm Shotgun Start
5:30pm Awards Presentation

New Albany Links
7100 New Albany Links Dr.
New Albany, OH 43054

Box Lunch
Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres during awards presentation
Contests, Raffles, Bragging Rights

Participation Fee: $100

Register:

RSVP here.