HEAD & NECK CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

2024 information coming soon

Register Your Screening Event

Please use the above form for awareness events/screenings that happen now through February 2024.  If your event is later in 2024, please wait to signup for your screening until we have the new signup form available in early January 2024.

For more than two decades, HNCA has worked with partners around the world to raise awareness and save lives by hosting community health screenings to promote early detection.

Download our "How to Host a Screening Guide"
Download and print our customizable flyer about your screening event

Why Host a Screening?

Screening and early detection of oral, head and neck cancer is now more important than ever. Oropharyngeal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is on the rise in younger adults without traditional risk factors, and has recently surpassed the rate of cervical cancer caused by HPV among women in the US. We know that HPV positive cancer carries a better chance of survival than HPV negative if it’s caught early and treated early, making screening for every adult imperative.

The statistics are staggering and further underscore the need for worldwide screenings. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, HPV prevalence in oropharyngeal tumors shot up from 16% during the 1980s to 73% during the 2000s. 

Easy as 1…2…SCREEN

HNCA makes it easy for your organization to participate. We provide the promotional and education materials free of charge, and you organize the staff and volunteers. By signing up to host a screening at your medical or dental office, center, or institution, you will have access to the following materials:

  • How to Host a Head and Neck Cancer Screening, a guide to help prepare your team for what to expect during a screening
  • A screening kit that includes HIPAA compliant screening forms, promotional materials (posters, t-shirts, local media kit), and giveaways
  • The 2023 Media Outreach & Publicity Guide to get your community involved

These materials will arrive at your institution well in advance of your screening event, so you will have help along the way as you navigate through this important and worthwhile life saving program.

Registration for 2024 will be open soon.

While most screenings will take place during the week of April 16-22, 2023, we welcome your partnership at any time of the year. If you’re unable to host a screening in April, please consider hosting an event at another time this year. HNCA is pleased to offer the same educational and promotional support—free of charge—for all screenings offered during the year.

Register Your Screening Event
What are organizations saying about this event?

For over 10 years, Greenville Ear, Nose and Throat Associates in Greenville, SC has participated in Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week by hosting oral, head and neck cancer screenings. Early detection of oral, head and neck cancer is key to successful treatment. Screenings provide a great way to educate the community about signs and symptoms and when it is appropriate to seek medical help. Registering with the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance is easy. They send promotional and educational materials for free. All you have to do is organize the staff and volunteers. We encourage everyone to host a screening event!

The head and neck cancer screenings that Moffitt Cancer Center’s Department of Head and Neck-Endocrine Oncology offers is easier and free access to individuals in our community, including those who are underserved.  We love Tampa and its surrounding areas.  Our Department is fortunate to have the opportunity to serve the community by educating them on early detection about head and neck cancers and providing critical screenings.

Partners in Care hosts the free screening event during our head and neck cancer 5K runs that we host. In 2023 we are hosting 13 different races across the United States and we hope to be able to provide free screenings if not at all 13 venues at least half of them. It’s very important to host the screenings not only to raise awareness of Head and Neck Cancer but also as we know early detection saves lives. Years ago when we held a free screening here in Fort Myers one of my former tonsil cancer patients brought her husband in for free screening. He had been complaining of some symptoms for the past year.. She convinced him to come to one of our free screening events and they did find that he also had tonsil cancer. That screening saved his life he to underwent chemo and radiation just like his wife. They are both 80 years old now and thriving. So I am a firm believer in screenings and screening as many people as we possibly can.
- Stacey Brill, Partners In Care

Awareness Events

Some screening sites also participate in oral, head and neck cancer awareness events during the same week as the free screenings. Doing this yields more community involvement and further promotes early detection for these types of cancers. We encourage supplemental education and awareness events, and are here to help you in any way we can. Previous successful events include run/walks, benefit concerts and school talks. For more information, please email info@headandneck.org.

Hosting Head and Neck Cancer Screenings During the Covid-19 Pandemic

We understand many sites may have challenges with hosting a screening event due to COVID-19 restrictions, so we are encouraging sites to: 

  • Work with their respective institutions’ public health teams to determine the appropriate timing and venue to optimize the safety of your head and neck cancer screening event.
  • Plan for a screening in the latter part of 2023 when conditions are better. HNCA is pleased to offer the same educational and promotional support—free of charge—for all screenings offered in 2023.
  • Share this email with dental offices in your local community, who are currently seeing patients, and can serve as the first line of defense in detecting head and neck cancer.

Our partners can also get involved in other ways, such as participating in our online awareness-raising campaign, hosting a virtual educational activity, or sharing OHANCAW print and digital materials in their waiting and exam rooms. More information will be shared later about these and other activities for Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week 2023!

Spokesperson

We will also work to implement a national publicity campaign to complement your screening event, including a new national spokesperson each year. Our Spokesperson is renowned voice actor, Rob Paulsen. Learn more about our spokesperson here!