ATSU-ASDOH participates in ninth annual Arizona Oral Cancer Walk
Posted: April 10, 2018
On Saturday, April 7, students and faculty from A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) participated in the ninth annual Arizona Oral Cancer Walk at the Phoenix Zoo. ATSU-ASDOH students were involved in planning and organizing the event as part of the School’s Dentistry in the Community program.
More than 500 people participated in the walk, kicking off Oral Cancer Awareness Month. ATSU-ASDOH students and volunteer dentists provided free oral cancer screenings to 130 people. More than $20,000 was raised to support the Oral Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to oral cancer prevention, education, research, and patient advocacy.
“Raising public awareness about the importance of oral cancer prevention and screening is as important as empowering dental health professionals to take responsibility for performing thorough oral cancer screenings on every patient at least once a year,” says Mai-Ly Duong, DMD, MPH, ’12, assistant professor at ATSU-ASDOH. “This public health initiative is a great way to reach those goals. We also indirectly educate our students on the value of service to the community. I am so touched that I get to play a small role in uniting our community around this cause. Only by working together can we make a difference and make oral cancer history!”