"I'm going to take a good look inside your mouth."  
   
    Doctor Michelle Cullen isn't looking for cavities, she's looking for signs of cancer. 

"If you have a sore in your mouth that doesn't resolve in a week to two weeks, that's definitely something you should get checked."

    Lori Hamilton's husband Bobby was diagnosed with neck cancer at the age of 47. 
"He wasn't aware of it. He wasn't aware that head and neck cancer was the fifth-largest cancer out there."

    The Champion Nascar Driver died last year and now Lori is encouraging people to get screened for the disease.  

"It's painless. The worst thing they do is hold your tongue out and they look down your throat."  

    Lori's not sure what caused her husband's cancer. People with a history of heavy smoking and drinking are most at risk, but the American Cancer Society now estimates up to 30-percent of cases may be caused by a sexually transmitted virus. 
"Well, there has been some recent evidence that demonstrates that head-neck cancer, particularly in the base of the tongue and the tonsils may be linked to the Human Papillomavirus or HPV."

  Doctors say early diagnosis is key to survival.