In tune to beat oral cancer
Dundee students’ music night was the perfect way to end a week of activities
The Dundee Dental Student Society (DDSS) rounded off its Mouth Cancer Awareness Week fundraising efforts at the end of last November with its annual ‘Acoustic Night’, hosted at the Verdant Works in Dundee. This event showcased musically talented staff and students, raising money for Let’s Talk About Mouth Cancer, a Scottish charity (LTAMC – SC045100) campaigning for early detection of oral cancer.
Each November, staff and students at Dundee Dental Hospital & Research School engage with family, friends and members of the public to deliver preventative education and advice related to reduction of oral cancer risk. Using resources designed by LTAMC, such as self-examination leaflets, members of the DDSS committee host informative and interactive stalls at the university Union, informing locals on methods for early detection, smoking cessation and responsible alcohol consumption. Badges, UV protection lip balms and toothpaste samples, provided by LTAMC, are also offered to those engaging.
The organisation of DDSS’ Mouth Cancer Awareness Week activities falls to us as elected Charities and Sponsorships Representatives! However, this was not our first experience of fundraising, having previously organised the society’s first ‘Charities Week’ shortly after our appointment. This involved collecting more than 140kg of donations for Dundee and Angus Foodbank, organising a blood drive at Ninewells Hospital with 30 attendees, and, finally, a pub quiz and raffle raising £1,397 in aid of the UNICEF Gaza Appeal. Relationships created with local businesses, who kindly donated raffle prizes, were key to the success of the Charities Week, with the committee fortunate enough to have its continued support during Mouth Cancer Awareness Week.
As oral cancer continues to rise across the UK, the importance and power of fundraising efforts is sadly all too clear
With the incidence of oral cancer continuing to rise across the UK, the importance and power of fundraising efforts is sadly all too clear, particularly for future dental practitioners. As a result, we aimed to expand the scope of the Acoustic Night, increasing everything from the venue capacity to the number of performers. By inviting family, friends and students from other schools like medicine to perform, or simply come along and support, we hoped to reduce stigma around the disease, encouraging discussion amongst members of the public.
After weeks of preparation, the Acoustic Night took place at Verdant Works, a former jute mill housing exhibits showcasing Dundee’s industrial past. Its rustic nature, high ceilings and unique architecture, coupled with its rich history, made for the perfect location. Performers were thrilled to showcase their talents, particularly due to the venue’s amazing acoustics!
More than 100 people came to watch our 13 talented acts perform on the night, featuring a multitude of musical styles from opera and musical theatre to acoustic covers and rock. The night concluded with an anticipated yearly performance from ‘Chris and the Band’, a group led by Chris, one of our Dental Laboratory instructors, and joined by students. The band play covers of songs, such as Hallelujah and YMCA, with a unique twist; rewritten to reflect life as a Dundee Dental School student!
This year, we decided to dedicate our Acoustic Night to the memory of Lesley Macleod, the mum of Kirsty’s best friend, Rachael. Rachael kindly wrote a speech describing her late mum, which Kirsty read on the night. This helped to drive home the importance of the work carried out by LTAMC.
Thanks to the generosity of those attending, we raised a fantastic £1,366.13 on the night. We would like to thank our sponsors – Clyde Munro, Infinity Blu and DDU – alongside all our raffle donors and amazing performers, for their help in making the event such a huge success. We hope that, in the future, DDSS members continue to use Mouth Cancer Awareness Week to campaign for increased public awareness of oral cancer, increasing the scale and scope of events like Acoustic Night year-upon-year.
Through our involvement in oral health promotion initiatives like this and learning about the life-changing impact that the disease can have on both patients and their loved ones, we have come to recognise the importance of preventative education, which we will strive to maintain throughout our careers as dental practitioners.
Rachel’s story
My mum, Lesley MacLeod, enjoyed singing, dancing, chatting and eating good food. She spent her childhood at Irish dancing competitions and from age 3 to 16 earned dozens of medals and trophies from competitions. From the age of 16 she travelled Scotland and Ireland performing in ceilidh bands, playing the flute and the fiddle. At 23, she joined her church band and spent the next 20 years of her life singing at Sunday services, christenings and Christmas events – it was a pleasure to spend those years watching and listening to her from the pews, in awe of my wee Mum leading everyone with such a beautiful voice.
After living with a lump on her jaw line for quite some time and continually being put on different antibiotics by the doctor, the pain eventually became unbearable. In June 2014, my mum was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinomas.
She had to undergo severe facial surgery alongside chemotherapy and radiotherapy, removing part of her left side jaw and her tongue. This was made possible by taking a skin graft from her right thigh and a piece of muscle from her right calf, leaving her right leg scarred and weak, but enabling her jaw to be restructured to allow for the possibility of eating, drinking and speaking.
Learning to eat without a tongue and the ability to chew was as difficult as it sounds, meaning she relied on a feeding tube for the first few years of recovery. The radiotherapy further affected her tastebuds and so foods she had loved before were no longer the same. This made learning to eat again a long and difficult journey for her, as she was at the mercy of foods being a very specific texture and taste.
A tracheotomy was necessary while she learned to breathe again following such significant facial and throat surgery. This did not help her after returning home however, as she had to always remain upright to breathe. This meant that sleeping became very difficult, and after attending a sleep clinic in an attempt to correct it, they informed her that she woke up every two-and-a half minutes during the night. This could not be fixed, and made living a normal life very difficult her speech remained slurred and occasionally difficult to understand, but we got used to it. Her eating got better with time, practice and the right meals. She danced as much as her leg and breathlessness would allow. The shape of her mouth and jaw meant that she could no longer play the flute or the fiddle, so she learned the guitar instead. She was never able to sing again, though she practiced every morning in the shower.”
Rachael Macleod
Sel-examination is key
Mouth self-examination is often overlooked despite its simplicity. Detecting mouth cancer early leads to better patient survival. Share this ‘Mouth Self Examination’ Animation with your patients!