Brian --

I just got a call from a friend in Boston who was watching Good Morning America today and saw a TV ad for the Oral Cancer Foundation . . . Great!!!

Perhaps this was just a one market thing, but any sort of national or tv coverage is fantastic.

Kudos to you!

Tim

We have put out a number of things, as the small funding that we have allows us to. Professional TV production pieces are not cheap and we have to wit for $ or find innovative and novel means to get them made. (Read: I have to get on my knees and beg a lot, trade favors, and more) Generic pieces on risk factors, celebrity pieces like the Klugman and Danner public service announcements etc. have been done in the last 2 years. Always the issue is that we cannot pay for airtime, and are completely dependent on the benevolence of the stations that we send the beta SP tapes to. I do spend some time talking to program managers, producers at news shows, etc, begging to get some of these things aired. Sometimes it works, sometimes I am just one of the hundreds of people that contact them... I never know for sure who is going to bite or if something is going to get played. We are going to be re-releasing the Blythe Danner piece in about a month ( if you haven't seen it , a micro version of it is on the main site multi-media link) as a new campaign hits the airways, and she will be in the news again. This is a huge effort that has taken more than two years to bring to fruition, and as soon as the ink is dry on the contracts I will be free to tell you all about it. But suffice it to say it will be the biggest thing PR and informationally that oral and head and neck cancers have ever gotten - IF all the piece fall into place in the next 30 days.

Brian, I have been "mulling a thought" over for the last 6 mo, after John's diagnosis and tx started. The above posts brought it to mind again. In our neck of the woods, there are alot of smokers and "chewers". Unfortunately, it comes with the territory. I think I could get an assembly program presented at our high school on the effects of tobacco as it relates to Oral cancer. But I can't present it. Do you have any materials and guidelines for a presentation to 8th thru 12th graders? Amy

Brian, I also need some literature if possible. There is a strong support group here in my area now, started by me and my group of doctors and I was contacted yesterday by the head of "Dive for Cancer". A local guy that my husband knows owns a dive center and he has been doing fundraisers for the American Cancer Society for a few years now. He is a cancer survivor and incredibly wealthy (he's helping pay for my implants). He wants me to help with the fundraiser, sit on some type of committee/board. I am hoping he will respond to my suggestions to make OCF a recipient of some of the donations.
Can you send me some more stuff?
Minnie

I will send out the info for you Minnie, thank you for asking and thinking of us. It's always a battle to steal some of the millions of dollars that ACS and the other big organizations get....and they don't share with others on their own.

JAM - pls look at the recent news article about the guy that travels to high schools etc. talking about tobacco and oral cancer.... This guy does it well and as an unrestored mandibular resection, has an appearance that gets attention and the point across.