Atlanta offering free cancer screening on race weekend

ATLANTA -- Lori Hamilton, widow of Bobby Hamilton, is urging local fans take advantage of a free screening for oral, head and neck cancer that will be held this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway (click here for tickets) in Hampton, Ga.

The screening will be conducted by medical professionals from the Georgia Chapter of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (HNCA), formerly the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation. The screenings will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day in the vendor area.

Lori Hamilton

This screening is being held in advance of the 2009 Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Week (OHANCAW), sponsored by the HNCA, which will be held nationwide from April 27-May 3. OHANCAW is dedicated annually to educating the public about these potentially life-threatening but highly treatable cancers, and to promoting prevention, screening and early detection. For more information, please visit the OHANCAW Web site at www.OHANCAW.com.

According to the American Cancer Society, last year an estimated 35,300 Americans were diagnosed with cancers of the head and neck -- which include cancers of the oral cavity, larynx and pharynx -- and about 7,600 died from the disease. Bobby Hamilton, the 2004 Truck Series champion and four-time winner in the Cup series, died in January 2007 at age 49 from complications of head and neck cancer.

"Bobby's diagnosis hit us hard out of left field. After learning so much about the disease we became huge advocates of early detection and real believers in the screening process," Lori Hamilton said. "It is my honor to continue this effort in his name because we've made so much progress with past years' screenings. Bobby would want us to press forward to reach more people with our message. The screening is quick, painless and free, so we are encouraging everyone to take advantage of this opportunity that could save your life."

Bobby Hamilton

"When diagnosed early, oral and other head and neck cancers can be more easily treated without significant complications, and the chances of survival increase," said Steven Roser, D.M.D., M.D., DeLos Professor and Chief, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Georgia Chapter of HNCA. "However, many Americans do not recognize the symptoms of these cancers, which reinforces the importance of getting screened properly, and not just for those who are at high risk such as tobacco and alcohol users."

Oropharyngeal cancer -- cancer of the tonsil or base of the tongue -- is on the rise in populations normally considered to be at low risk, including young adults who don't smoke. Researchers have attributed this development partly to the increase of the cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can be transmitted by oral sex. Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions concluded that potentially HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers increased in the U.S. from 1973 to 2004, perhaps as a result of changing sexual behaviors.

For more information about the free screening at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, contact Edie R. Hapner, PhD CCC-SLP, at 404-686-7798 or ehapner@emory.edu.