Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Oral cancer survivor brings anti-chew message to youth
Ottawa - Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is bringing internationally recognized speaker, Gruen Von Behrens, to Ottawa on March 24, 2011 to speak to youth, parents, sports coaches and players. Von Behrens, an oral cancer survivor who has been featured on ABC’s The Doctors, is touring Eastern Ontario this month.
At age 13, Von Behrens tried chewing tobacco for the first time and quickly got hooked. By the time he was 17, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. The devastating disease spread, leading to 40 oral surgeries and hundreds of painful procedures and radiation treatments. Von Behrens has lost half of his tongue, all of his teeth and his entire jawbone. Growing up in Illinois, he was a promising baseball star but his battle with oral cancer ruined any chance of him pursuing a sports career.
Von Behrens now travels North America, telling his story to show children and teens how tobacco can ruin their health and their future. He delivers a riveting message that has brought audiences to both laughter and tears. He urges young people to look for the positive, be thankful for life’s blessings and seek out “how to live a good life and not let anything hold you back.”
While tobacco companies continue to seek out new customers by adding flavours such as fruit and mint to chew tobacco, Von Behrens’ message reminds youth that chew tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking.
While in Ottawa, Von Behrens will speak to students at two area high schools, and at an event open to the public.
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2011
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Confederation Education Centre, 1645 Woodroffe Ave.
This presentation will be in English only.
Admission is free but seating is limited. Please contact Heidi McKean at Heidi.McKean@ottawa.ca or visit exposeottawa.ca for more information.
Did you know?
Chewing tobacco contains 28 carcinogens and 3,000 other chemicals. The smooth flavours of chewing tobacco make this a gateway product to cigarettes and a lifetime of addiction.
Chewing tobacco use can lead to oral cancer within five years of use.
Since 2005, consumption of chewing tobacco in Canada has risen, reversing a steady seven-year decline dating back to 1998, according to Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada.
Teens aged 15 to19 represent 25 per cent of Canadian smokeless tobacco users, despite representing only seven per cent of the population, according to the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, 1997-2005
Smokeless products are completely banned in Australia, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the European Union, with the exception of Sweden.
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