COLUMBIA, S.C. — April is oral, head and neck cancer awareness month, and Prisma Health hosted free screenings for patients around the state.
"It started out with a normal regular dentist visit for a cleaning," Kim Villarreal-Wright said.
Villarreal-Wright was diagnosed with oral cancer in August of 2023. She had four surgeries to remove cancer from under her tongue.
"It seemed to be a recurring thing; what she wanted to [do] was remove about a third of my tongue," she said. "A hemicolectomy - remove the lymph nodes from the right side of neck; use a skin graft from my wrist to create a flap to reconstruct the area of my tongue that they were removing."
Now cancer-free, she urges community members to get screened.
"If there's ever anything that doesn't feel right in your mouth, anywhere—inside your cheek, your tongue under your tongue—if you notice a spot that hasn't been there," Villarreal-Wright said. "I know they say, sometimes, they're usually red, but mine was white. Go get it checked."
Prisma Health said South Carolina is expected to have 1,400 new cases of oral, head and neck cancer diagnoses this year.
"It's very important to catch head-neck cancers early," Walsh Thomas said. "The earlier you catch them, the better prognosis is and the fewer issues you'll have with treatment. Head-neck cancer screenings and routine dental cleanings are important."
Thomas, a head and neck surgeon with South Carolina Ear, Nose, and Throat (SCENT), said patients can look for multiple symptoms.
"Symptoms that are concerning for head-neck cancer [are] a lump in the neck, persistently hoarse or changed voice," he said. "Any kind of a bleeding or painful lesion on the skin or in the mouth. If the patient has any difficulty swallowing or breathing for any consistent length of time over a week or two, I would certainly seek evaluation."