Cancer Screenings at West Hospital

Mercy Health - Cincinnati, which provides advanced, quality, compassionate care in your neighborhood through its care network, announces that Joseph Shaughnessy, MD, a radiation oncologist with OHC, and Mark Gutowski, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist who practices from Mercy Health – West Hospital, are teaming up to provide free oral, head and neck cancer screenings on the West Hospital campus.

The event coincides with December’s Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month observance and takes place from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, December 7 in the medical office building connected to the hospital at 3301 Mercy Health Blvd., Suite 445, Cincinnati, OH 45211. These free screenings will take place in 15 minute intervals and you must register for your screening. Call Michelle at 513-215-0212 today to reserve your space.

Risk factors for oral, head and neck cancer include:

• Smoking - About 80% of people with oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers use tobacco in the form of cigarettes, chewing tobacco or snuff. The risk of developing oral cancer depends on the duration and frequency of tobacco use. Even moderate use can cause cancer.
• Regular alcohol consumption - About 70% of people diagnosed with oral cancer are heavy drinkers. This risk is higher for people who use both alcohol and tobacco. For people who smoke and drink heavily, the risk of oral cancer may be as high as 100% more than the risk for people who do not smoke or drink.
• Possible exposure to HPV (human papillomavirus) - HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact. Some HPV types can lead to cancer. Men and women can get cancer of mouth and throat from HPV infection.
• Age over 55 - As with many cancers, the risk of developing oral cancer increases with age. Men are twice as likely to develop oral cancer than women, with most people being over the age of 55.