In 2023, 8864 people in the UK were diagnosed with mouth cancer. Through his work as a dentist and involvement with the Mouth Cancer Foundation since its inception 20 years ago, Philip has been dedicated to raising awareness, educating and promoting the early detection of mouth cancer as well as supporting those affected by it.
Philip said, “This award is in recognition of over 30 years of campaigning to raise awareness of all head and neck cancers and encourage the dental profession to carry out thorough oral cancer checks on all patients at annual routine appointments.
“As a trustee and past president of the Mouth Cancer Foundation I was involved in devising a self-check which the public can carry out on themselves.”
During his time as president of the Mouth Cancer Foundation, Philip grew the charity, which has continued to go from strength to strength with patients, carers and survivors at the heart of all activities.
A large part of the charity’s remit is educating dental and medical professionals on the early detection of head and neck cancers.
Philip added, "We have come a long way since I very first started raising awareness of head and neck cancers. Dentists took some convincing to carry out checks on patients and often members of the public were unaware cancer existed in the mouth until someone close to them was diagnosed.
“When I used to lecture many years ago, I would be talking to a handful of people. Now, my lectures are packed out with the profession wanting to learn as much as possible about oral cancer. Progress is being made.”