Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week® (OHANCAW®) and Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness (OHANCA®) Program.

What We Do?

With our OHANCA® Program, we work closely with local hospitals, clinics and medical centers each year to provide free head and neck cancer screenings for community members in hundreds of locations throughout the US and abroad. The number of international sites participating has nearly doubled since 2016. In 2017, more than 20 countries joined us to provide free screenings in their local communities. The U.S. alone had 350 medical and dental clinics registered in the 2017 OHANCAW®. Learn more in the 2017 OHANCAW® Overview.

Why We Do It?

The goal of this initiative is to encourage adults who are at high risk for oral, head and neck cancer to take advantage of the nationwide and international free screenings. A key message of the campaign is that early diagnosis is key to successful treatment of these types of cancers.

When is it?

Free screenings occur all over the US and abroad any time during the year. In April, we have a pinnacle week, named the Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week® which promotes a high volume of free screenings all over the world, plus educational talks, fundraising opportunities like the Smash Cancer Tennis Tournament in Wilmington, NC and patient support initiatives like the Head and Neck Survivor’s Retreat based in Charleston, SC.

The 2019 OHANCAW® is scheduled for April 7-14. Early registration will begin in mid-November 2017.

How to Get Involved?

There are many ways to get involved. If you are a patient, caregiver or someone affected by head and neck cancer and interested in educating others about this disease, please talk to your doctor, a local dental clinic or medical institution about the importance of early detection. Once you have a medical clinic or institution interested in joining this cause, sign up is easy. For more information on how to host a screening, go to Host a Screening.

If you simply want to find a screening site near you, or participate in head and neck cancer awareness events in your region, please go to Find a Free Screening. There you will find events and screenings in your area.

If you are interested in starting a chapter in your state, please contact us! We would be happy to help you get started!

Other events to support head and neck cancer awareness include:

  • runs/walks
  • survivor workshops
  • basketball/golf/tennis tournaments
  • silent auctions and galas
  • and more…

Check out what our chapters are doing in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and South Carolina!

1-866-792-HNCA (4622)



As a decade-long survivor of stage IV tongue cancer and Founder of WesternOhio Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Support, Hank refers to head and neck cancer as an “orphan” cancer: “Very little is known about head and neck cancer, and comparatively, it receives less attention than other cancers. HNCA is working to change this.Hank Deneski
Survivor of Stage IV tongue cancer and Founder of WesternOhio Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Support

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