Sharon Dixon, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma and had very aggressive reconstructive jaw surgery in 2006. She is a 12-year cancer survivor, will be retiring this year, and is turning 65 years old. In a year of milestone accomplishments, Sharon’s goal is to raise $10,000 which will be donated directly to the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network for its work of providing information and activities for head and neck cancer patients.
Sharon is a passionate CCSN patient advocate for head and neck cancer & cancer survivorship. She has attended our Alberta All-party Cancer Caucus, is a member of our head and neck cancer & survivorship advisory councils, and is a guest tweeter on our Head and Neck Cancer twitter account. She also provided assistance and insight for our head and neck cancer website section. Sharon is devoted to the cause of furthering awareness of head and neck cancer and we are honoured to help her in her efforts. Help Sharon reach her goal.
Click here to donate!
More About Head and Neck Cancer
Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth, nose, throat, sinuses (cavities that sit behind the forehead and cheeks), larynx (voice box) and salivary glands. bout 75% of these cancers occur as a result of alcohol or tobacco consumption. Other risk factors include the chewing of Betel leafs (mostly in Asia), human papilloma virus (HPV), radiation therapy and Epstein-Barr virus. Globally, they affect more than 5.5 million people (mouth 2.4 million, throat 1.7 million, larynx 1.4 million), with 370,000 people dying every year. (National Cancer Institute)
Head and neck cancers represent the 7th most common cause of cancer and the 9th most frequent cause of death due to cancer. Survival after five years is between 50% and 60%.