On 15 November a special event was held at the House of Commons in support of Mouth Cancer Action Month. It was attended by those personally affected by mouth cancer, Members of Parliament, the dental and wider health profession and supporters and campaigners of mouth cancer action.

Dr Nigel Carter OBE, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, spoke at the event about the increase in mouth cancer cases in recent years and how important Mouth Cancer Action Month is in bringing the issue to a wide audience: 'Mouth Cancer Action Month is an important opportunity to raise vital public awareness of the disease and potentially catch many hundreds of cases in the future before it is too late.'

Keynote speaker Professor Michael Lewis drew attention to the emerging trends in mouth cancer, including the growing evidence that more women and younger people are being diagnosed with the disease. He also highlighted that size does indeed matter when it comes to mouth cancer, as a patient's survival chance is often based upon when their case is diagnosed, showing that early diagnosis significantly improves a patient's prognosis.

Professor Lewis also called upon everybody to add their support to the important campaign for a gender-neutral HPV vaccination which has the potential to save thousands of lives lost to mouth cancer in the future.

If you have not done so yet there is still time to pledge your support to the campaign and take part in Mouth Cancer Action Month, visit www.mouthcancer.org/support to sign up now.