Thank you so much to everyone that came and took part in our special beach fun day, and charity walk on Perranporth Beach on Thursday 20th August.
Although the weather wasn’t reminiscent of a typical Cornish Summer, this didn’t deter our hardy volunteers, who enjoyed the games on the beach!
The River Practice Specialist Centre made the journey to Perranporth Beach, where they took part in a fun day in support of “Moveit4smiles”; a oral health initiative with a simple aim, to get moving and raise money in the fight against mouth cancer.
The team and assembled crowd took part in a number of events, including a tug of war, three-legged races and volleyball.
Jeremy Peak from the River Practice said: “We wanted to help raise awareness of the charity, promote it amongst the community and to a wider tourist audience.
“Firstly, we ‘moved it for smiles’ by walking along a coastal path. This was followed by a healthy picnic and team games in the afternoon.”
They also handed out over 300 leaflets about the charity, and information on oral cancer as well as branded merchandise.
Every year almost 7,000 people in the United Kingdom are diagnosed with mouth cancer, with more losing their life to the disease than testicular and cervical cancer combined. However, public awareness remains low.
Jeremy continued: “The River Practice decided to get involved as around 10% have never heard of mouth cancer and even more are not aware of the risk factors involved, with a quarter of people not realising that smoking is a major cause of mouth cancer
“What we are striving towards is educating and raising awareness of this silent killer, allowing for people to be diagnosed sooner and giving them a better chance of survival.
“Every day eighteen people are diagnosed with mouth cancer in the UK and annually more lose their fight to the disease than those with testicular and cervical cancer combined. “ Jeremy added.
“What is a shocking statistic is made even more troubling when you consider that with early detection the survival rate is 90%, compared to 50% for late diagnosis. Early detection is vital.”
The team were also joined by Harry and Jess from local radio station Pirate 2, who took part in the events and help round up members of the public.
Jeremy concluded: “It was a very enjoyable team day with the whole team and their children getting involved. We hope to have raised lots of awareness, as well as collecting approximately £200”
Read more about 500 Miles for Smiles, and information on Mouth Cancer:
You can read more here!