Mouth Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Ireland

2009

Mouth Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Ireland Group founded and the inaugural meeting was held in Dublin Dental University Hospital. 

2011

A free mouth check-up was again offered in the dental hospitals in Cork and Dublin. The Irish Dental Association joined the Group.

2012

The Irish Dental Association organised all the general dental practitioners in Ireland to provide a free mouth check-up on MCAD. This provided access to the public in all towns and cities around Ireland. 

A detailed document was prepared by MHNCAI Group with advice for the public and professionals.

This included advice about the mouth check-up and detailed referral guidelines if something suspicious was detected. The Dental Schools and regional Oral Surgeons were prepared and ready to accept these referrals.

2014

The Irish Dental Association again organised all the general dental practitioners in Ireland to provide a free mouth check-up on MCAD.  This provided access to the public in all towns and cities around Ireland. 

MHNCAI Group liaised with the Irish Pharmaceutical Union to increase awareness among Pharmacists.

The Dental Students in TCD attended the 9th TCD Global Cancer conference. They handed out a questionnaire to health care professionals at the conference to assess general levels of knowledge regarding mouth cancer.

2016

The Irish Dental Association organised all the general dental practitioners in Ireland to provide a free mouth check-up on MCAD.  This provided access to the public in all towns and cities around Ireland. 

There were free public lectures in the Cork University Dental School & Hospital (organised by Dr Eleanor O’Sullivan) and in Dublin Dental University Hospital (organised by Dr Denise MacCarthy).

Mr Cathal O’Grady, mouth cancer survivor and Olympic boxing medallist, spoke about his experience with mouth cancer and the importance of early diagnosis by his dentist.  Ms Emily Hourican, mouth cancer survivor and journalist, also provided her insights.

On MCAD 2016, Mr Christy Dignam of Aslan, offered his support.

2017

The focus of MCAD 2017 was on marginalised and disadvantaged groups in our community.  The MHNCAI Group worked with the Peter McVerry Trust and with the Simon Community.

There was a Symposium organised in the Cork University Dental School & Hospital (organised by Dr Eleanor O’Sullivan) and in Dublin Dental University Hospital (organised by Dr Denise MacCarthy) with speakers who worked with disadvantaged and marginalised groups. 

The 3rd National Cancer Strategy was launched.  The MHNCAI Group was happy with the increased profile of the role of the GDP in early diagnosis of mouth cancer and also the importance of pre-radiation dental and oral assessment and care for the H&N Cancer patient.

The Minister for Health, Mr Simon Harris attended the MCAD.

2020

The focus will be on the Older Community in Ireland.  This was considered to be appropriate as MHN cancer is most common in people over the age of 55 years. 

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, the MCAD will be entirely “virtual” with information sent to Groups who support the Older Community.

To help this and facilitate wide distribution of information, the website has been redesigned and updated.

2010

An information brochure was developed collaboratively between all members of the Group.  The support of mouth cancer survivors and their families is gratefully acknowledged – Mr Peter Sheridan, Mr Gerry Collins, Ms Lia Mills, Mr Phelim Drew and Ms Cliodhna Drew.

The first Mouth Cancer Awareness Day was organised – it was agreed to have this annually on the 3rd Wednesday in September. 

A free mouth check-up was offered in Cork University Dental School and Hospital and in Dublin Dental University Hospital.  Several thousand members of the public attended on the day. The event was also supported by Mary Harney (Minister for Health & Children) and Deirdre Clune (TD).

2013

The Irish Dental Association again organised all the general dental practitioners in Ireland to provide a free mouth check-up on MCAD. This provided access to the public in all towns and cities around Ireland. 

The MCAD Logo was developed and the Website was established with the help of Think Media, which is gratefully acknowledged.

The Work of Mouth book was published – this was a collection of personal stories by mouth cancer survivors and there was also advice from medical and dental professionals. The book was edited by Lia Mills and Denise MacCarthy.  Publication was made possible by sponsorship of the Molar-Rollers with money raised with a cycle to London.

2015

The MHNCAI Group focused on Rural Communities in Ireland.  The President of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese and her husband Dr Martin McAleese offered their support.  Organisations such as the Irish Farmers Association, the Irish Country Womens Association were contacted and supported the MCAD.  Several mouth cancer survivors who came from rural communities supported MCAD – we gratefully acknowledge the generous support of Mr Morgan Murphy and Mr John Dunne.

The MHNCAI Group prepared a submission to the Working Group developing the National Cancer Strategy 2016-2026.  The MHNCAI Group submission was presented to Dr Leo Veradkar, the Minister for Health.  This submission directly resulted in the first mention of the role of the dentist in the early detection of Mouth Cancer and also the importance of pre-radiation dental assessment and advice for Head & Neck Cancer patients.

2018

The focus was on older men and we liaised with the Mens-Shed organisation.  We gratefully acknowledge Stephen Fehan (Mouth Cancer Survivor) for sharing his experiences and supporting MCAD 2018.

A video was prepared demonstrating the way to “Examine Your Own Mouth”.  This is now available on the MHNCAI Group website – www.mouthcancer.ie.

2019

The focus was on young people – the under 25 year old group.  The support of SpunOut.ie and Jack Deacon is acknowledged. An infographic was developed and the campaign of information about mouth cancer was mainly on social media.

We gratefully acknowledge Julita Janukowisz  (Mouth Cancer Survivor) for sharing her experiences with the SpunOut.ie team in a video and supporting MCAD 2019.