The Oral Cancer Prevention Project, now in its fourth year of operations, provides free screening and education services. The program also provides free medical treatment for uninsured and underinsured patients who are screened in participating counties and found to have a "suspicious" condition. The program operates in New Jersey, where it began.
Each year, the project sets up a variety of screening sites on numerous dates between March and the end of June. In 2009, with the help of a team of volunteer dentists, 956 people underwent free screenings. Of those, 47 were found to have suspicious conditions and were referred for further treatment. Two of these patients, both of whom lacked medical insurance, were referred to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, where they were accepted for free services.
Eight collaborating New Jersey County Cancer Coalitions--those in Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Union counties--sponsor the essential services of the Oral Cancer Prevention Project. The Cancer Coalitions are comprised of health care providers, community organizations, and members of the general public working together to strengthen cancer care services in their respective counties by planning and implementing a variety of projects. Their overall goal is to implement the strategies of the New Jersey Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, an official policy of the State.
The Oral Cancer Prevention Project coordinates its activities with those of the multi-state Oral Cancer Consortium, whose member organizations provide a single day of free oral cancer screenings during the month of April.
For more detailed information, please contact:
Bob Schermer, Project
Manager
robert.schermer@verizon.net
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