Yul Brynner Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Week

Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week is annually in April and is sponsored by the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization founded in 1983 by the late Yul Brynner and Dr. George Sisson, the surgeon who was Brynner’s doctor. The goal is to spread education, awareness, and support of this “neglected cancer.” The event has been endorsed by the American Head and Neck Society, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Society for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Nurses. An annual event that will include free head & neck cancer screenings and other activities to increase awareness of this disease which affects five percent of the population.

Individuals that meet at least one of the following criteria have a higher risk of Head & Neck Cancer and are encouraged to get a screening:

• Use tobacco products and/or consume alcohol;
• Have a persistent sore throat or pain when swallowing;
• Have a lump in the neck;
• Have persistent hoarseness;
• Have mouth sores that bleed or do not heal;
• Have persistent ear pain, or
• Have a family history of head and neck cancer