Don’t You Just Hate Cancer?

When I was 12, my mother died of cancer. Since then, I have had two step-mothers die of cancer. I lost a very dear friend to pancreatic cancer, and several other friends have passed away throughout the years with various forms of this disease. But, not every story about cancer ends in sadness. My sister-in-law beat cancer. A great friend survived kidney cancer, and currently I have two people I greatly admire battling prostate cancer. They are winning their battles.

Every one of us has been affected by cancer in some way. Since my mother died, great strides have been made in fighting cancer. There are more and more survivors every year. The key to beating cancer is finding it early. The sooner treatment starts, the less likely for the cancer to destroy tissue or metastasize to other areas.

At the dental office of Dr. Bruce Sexton we take pride in the thoroughness of our twice yearly oral cancer exams. We visually inspect and palpate tissues as part of our regular exams. Several years ago we invested in technology called VELscope. VELscope is currently the best way to detect oral cancer at its earliest stages. The technology in this light allows us to see tissue abnormalities before we can see or feel them. These abnormalities can be investigated and if cancer is found, treatment can begin. This means the cancer fight can begin way before we would have found it without VELscope.

We believe in VELscope. We recommend that everyone over age 21 have a VELscope exam. Anyone over 40 should, without a doubt, be getting a yearly VELscope exam. Because we are so passionate about this, we are making a special offer for 2016.

Announcing VELscope for Vets! During 2016 we will donate $5 from every paid VELscope exam to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans! You can read more about the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans at: http://www.michiganveterans.com/Home/Veterans-Home/Grand-Rapids-Homes-for-Veterans.

We hope you will join us in supporting our veterans at this incredible local facility. We will be publishing more about the Home and about cancer in the coming year. For now, know that you can make a choice to be pro-active in the fight against cancer and at the same time join us in supporting our veterans in need.

Let us know what you think about our VELscope for Vets! campaign and call us with any questions you may have about oral cancer or VELscope. (269) 792-2220.

Thanks for reading!

Dr. Bruce