What is the event: The Surrey Newton Rotary Club in collaboration Pacific Oral Heath Society will be offering a free Oral Cancer Screening Clinic for the community on Sunday, September 11, 2016.
The clinic will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the new Pacific Oral Health Center building located at 15850 24 Avenue Surrey.
This clinic will be free to the public and anyone can register for a screening appointment. Pre-registration is required by calling 604.536.2700 (Absolutely free)
Goal of the event: To reduce the barriers to oral cancer screening and the prevention and early detection of oral cancer and pre-cancer. As with many other Rotary projects, our goal is to continue this clinic on an annual basis.
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.
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.
Our work focuses in areas including improving basic education and literacy, helping communities develop, preventing diseases, providing access to clean water and sanitation and enhancing maternal and child health.
