April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and Black Diamond Dental of Pagosa Springs is using the opportunity to highlight the importance of screenings through the personal experience of Dr. Justin Nylund, DDS.
“On Dec. 4, 2023 I woke up at 11:15 p.m. in excruciating pain at the angle of my Mandible and the front right part of my face was numb,” Nylund said.
After seven weeks working with specialists, Nylund learned he had Ewing’s sarcoma, a cancer more commonly found in children. It was a strange occurrence for more reasons than one.
“I have no risk factors or family history of cancer, but ended up being diagnosed with a kids cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma at 42,” he said. “The primary lesion happened in my mandible which only happens 1% of the time, and I ended up having the 1% version of the cancer.”
Treatment included 14 rounds of chemotherapy, a right mandibular hemisection and reconstruction using fibula bone from his leg. The experience reshaped how he approaches patient care.
“Weird things happen and oral cancer is far more common than we think,” he said. “It is very important to me to do a thorough oral cancer screening.”
At Black Diamond Dental, Nylund performs a six-step screening that evaluates the neck, tonsils, tongue, floor of the mouth, lips, cheeks and palate. He encourages patients to report persistent ulcers, mouth pain, chronic hoarseness, recurrent sore throat, difficulty swallowing or a hard lump in the neck.
“Oral cancer kills one person every hour,” Nylund cautioned.
More information about screenings is available at sixstepscreening.org. To learn about services or schedule an appointment, visit blackdiamonddentalofpagosasprings.com.
Black Diamond Dental is part of the Pagosa Sun sponsored content program called Spotlight.
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