Bobby Hamilton Racing, The Georgia Yul Brynner Foundation and Atlanta Motor Speedway are coming together this weekend to help the fight against head and neck cancer. Bobby Hamilton Sr., former driver and owner of Bobby Hamilton Racing, passed away in January from complications of the disease.  After the NASCAR Champion was diagnosed he launched a campaign to use his own celebrity status to create awareness for cancer.   

Beginning on Friday, October 26th, free head and neck cancer screenings will be conducted for drivers, crew members and media members by physicians, nurses and speech pathologists from Emory University Hospital. These screenings will occur near the media center from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.  The entire screening process takes approximately 10 minutes and is non-intrusive.

On Saturday the screenings will relocate from inside the race track to the outside vendor area. Fans may take part in the free screenings from 9 a.m. to until the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at 1 p.m.  The screening tent will be located near Gate 15 across from the General Motors and Motor Racing Outreach exhibits.

Head and neck cancers account for approximately three to five percent of all cancers in the United States. These cancers are more common in men and in people over age 50. It is estimated that about 39,000 men and women in this country will develop head and neck cancer in 2007.

Tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, and alcohol use are the most important risk factors for head and neck cancers, particularly those of the oral cavity and larynx.

Eighty-five percent of head and neck cancers are linked to tobacco use. People who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk for developing these cancers than people who use either tobacco or alcohol alone. 

"The purpose of this event is to educate people about the risks associated with smoking and chewing tobacco," says Iman Naseri, MD, in the Department of Otolaryngology at the Emory University School of Medicine and president of the Georgia Chapter of the Yul Brynner Foundation.  "We had a very successful event last year and are excited about this year's event.  Our thanks go out to Atlanta Motor Speedway for their commitment to educating people of all ages about oral and head and neck cancers."

"When Bobby (Hamilton Sr.) was diagnosed with cancer last year, it blew us all away," said Lori Hamilton (Hamilton's wife).  It just came out of left field since he was not a smoker or a drinker.  Bobby became a huge advocate for cancer survivors and pushed people to get screened.  He would sit in the waiting room at the hospital and talk to people about what treatments he was taking and how it was affecting him.  Bobby wanted to use anything in his power to help fight cancer and we still want to do that for him.  These screenings are crucial, and we are encouraging race teams and fans to do this for themselves.  Hopefully it will save some lives."

About the Yul Brynner Foundation

The Yul Brynner Head & Neck Cancer Foundation (YBF) was established in the 1980's after Yul Brynner, a well-known Hollywood and Broadway actor, died from complications from head and neck cancer. Prior to his death, he launched one of the most successful anti-smoking campaigns in history.  The foundation was created to promote public awareness about cancers of the head and neck and the dangers of smoking. Since then there have been several state chapters established in Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The mission of the Georgia chapter is the same as the national, mainly to raise public awareness about head and neck cancers and the dangers of tobacco use. The Yul Brynner Foundation unifies cancer survivors and healthcare practitioners as one team. The Georgia committee is comprised of doctors, nurses, cancer survivors, students and volunteers, reaching out to local communities to educate thousands of children and adults by providing talks in middle schools & churches about the dangers of smoking and smokeless tobacco.