Bridging the Gap: The “Why” Behind Our Oncology Oral Health Packs

At Toowoomba Dental, the “why” behind our choices has always mattered. The reason these Oncology Oral Health Packs exist comes from a very personal place for our family.

A while ago, my sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. As she prepared for treatment, she called Michael to ask what she needed to do for her oral health. She had been told to visit her dentist, and that dry mouth might occur, but there wasn’t much more detail than that. This is completely understandable. Oncology teams have so much to manage, and they aren’t dentists. Their focus is on treatment and survival, and oral health sits outside their expertise. What patients receive is general guidance, and it’s no one’s fault, but it often leaves people with questions they don’t know they need to ask. My sister was one of them, trying to work it out during an already overwhelming time.

Mummy's Wish is a charity that provides tailored, practical support for mums diagnosed with cancer in Australia with children under age 13. My sister and I attended in 2015, after she had been diagnosed.

When she went into remission, her husband was then diagnosed with cancer and faced his own treatment journey. Again, we guided him through what to expect and sent products to help keep him comfortable. These two experiences made something very clear. Oral health challenges, especially dry mouth, are more than minor side effects. They affect comfort, eating, sleeping and overall well-being. Yet they are rarely talked about in depth.

Dry mouth is one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment, especially radiation and chemotherapy. It affects comfort, eating, sleep and overall well-being. Many people don’t realise how significant it can be until they’re in the middle of it. Research shows that dry mouth is extremely common during head and neck radiation therapy, affecting around six to nine out of every ten patients. Even patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience dry mouth or changes to taste, depending on their medications.

This isn’t always spoken about in depth, not because anyone is overlooking it, but because oncology teams already have so much to manage. Oral health is simply outside their speciality, and patients often receive general information rather than detailed guidance. That’s why many people start treatment without knowing what products help, what to avoid or where to begin. Our family saw this first-hand, and it made us realise that we wanted to bridge that gap.

So instead of making a monetary donation, we decided to create something practical. Something patients could use straight away. We wrote simple guides explaining what to expect and how to manage oral changes. We reached out to generous businesses who donated dry mouth gels, soft toothbrushes, organic lip balms, self-warming eye masks and more. We put everything together into a pack that feels clear, supportive and useful.

At the heart of it all was our “why.” We wanted to give other families the kind of guidance we were able to give our own. We wanted people to feel supported, even in a small way, during a time when everything else feels uncertain.

We delivered 30 packs to the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation. It may not seem like a lot, but to us it’s a meaningful beginning. We hope it becomes the starting point for something larger. With feedback from oncology staff, patients and their families, we want to keep improving these packs and eventually extend them to support all local hospitals, foundations and cancer charities. One day, we hope to create versions explicitly designed for children as well.

My sister and I at the cancer charity ball in 2015.

The aim is simple. To keep finding ways to help. To keep giving back to a community that has given us so much. And to make this support available to more than just 30 people, because we know how much a little clarity and comfort can mean.

This is where the project begins, not where it ends. If we can keep building on it with the right support and funding, we hope these packs will become an ongoing resource that grows with our community.

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References

1. Dirix, P., Nuyts, S., & Van den Bogaert, W. (2006). Radiation-induced xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer: a literature review. Cancer.

2. Matsuda, A., Yamada, T., Matsuda, T., et al. (2022). Xerostomia after radiation therapy: Prevalence, risk factors and quality-of-life impact. Supportive Care in Cancer.

3. Sun, X., Su, L., Li, Y., et al. (2023). Late xerostomia and salivary gland dysfunction after head and neck radiotherapy. Frontiers in Oncology.

4. Chambers, M. S., Rosenthal, D. I., & Weber, R. S. (2007). Radiation-induced salivary dysfunction: Clinical course and supportive care. Seminars in Radiation Oncology.

5. Jellema, A. P., Slotman, B. J., & Doornaert, P. (2007). Impact of radiation-induced xerostomia on quality of life. Radiotherapy and Oncology.