Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s Cancer Services is teaming up with the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance to provide free screenings for oral, head and neck cancers this Saturday.

The screenings will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the Outpatient Building inside the radiation therapy suite at the Gainesville hospital.

According to the National Cancer Institute, head and neck cancers account for approximately 4 percent of all cancers in the U.S. and are more than twice as common among men as they are among women. The NCI says head and neck cancers are most commonly diagnosed among people age 50 and older.

Researchers estimate that more than 65,000 men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with head and neck cancers in 2017. HNCA also reports an 80 percent survival rate for head and neck cancers when detected early.

“By providing free screenings such as this one, we hope to help directly impact these survival rates within our own community,” said Jayme Carrico, executive director of oncology services at the hospital, in a press release.

For more information about the screenings, call 770-219-8815. For more information about oral, head and neck cancers or the HNCA, visit www.headandneck.org.