Early detection is the key to beating the illness, says a south Belfast woman who is said to have lost her father some time back to mouth cancer.

Margaret Newell (43) is said to have lost her father, George Flannigan (76), this summer. She was hence speaking out as part of Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, being run by Action Cancer Northern Ireland.

"Mouth cancer is twice as prevalent in men as in women, though an increasing number of women are being diagnosed with the disease. Research suggests this is due to increased uptake in smoking among young females", Emily Magrath, Action Cancer Health Promotion Manager.

A change in lifestyle itself can bring about a lot of change and many lives can hence be saved. Everyone is very well aware that smoking is the main cause behind mouth cancer, so if people stop smoking, the problem could be prevented to a great extent.

Also drinking is one of the reasons behind cancer so drinking too should be avoided. Also drinking and smoking together is likely to increase the chances by more than 30 times. Poor diet is also one of the risk factors.

Margaret Newell also said that since her dad was a heavy smoker for many years, this was one of the reasons behind his developing mouth cancer.