Is there a cure for HPV?

RaleighMusicGuy

Just wondering.  Sure would like to get rid of it.    I had no idea I had HPV until the cancer showed up.

I am aware that HPV can cause other cancers other than anal or rectal cancers.  If there isn't a cure, then I need to find a way to so what I can to avoid anymore.

I heard that a vegetarin diet is one of the best ways to prevent cancer.

mp327

RaleighMusicGuy

There is no cure for HPV and once you have it, you have it.  Contrary to popular belief, our bodies do not "clear" the virus.  However, it can lie dormant within us for many, many years--even decades, before it causes cell changes which can lead to some of us developing cancer.  The best defense currently available against this virus is the HPV vaccination, but that only prevents the virus in people who have not yet been exposed to it, which is why the age for vaccination in both girls and boys is 9 to 26.  I specifically asked Dr. Berry from University of California/San Francisco on Saturday at the conference I attended how the vaccination rates in this country compare to other countries.  He stated that the US definitely lags behind most other countries, which I find quite disturbing.

One comment that was made on Saturday was that stress plays a big role in how HPV may influence cell change.  As to how diet, exercise, no smoking, abstaining from alcohol use, etc. may contribute to this cell change, I do not know.  But as always, a healthy diet is good for us, no matter what.

Martha

Bjc57

mp327 said:

RaleighMusicGuy

There is no cure for HPV and once you have it, you have it.  Contrary to popular belief, our bodies do not "clear" the virus.  However, it can lie dormant within us for many, many years--even decades, before it causes cell changes which can lead to some of us developing cancer.  The best defense currently available against this virus is the HPV vaccination, but that only prevents the virus in people who have not yet been exposed to it, which is why the age for vaccination in both girls and boys is 9 to 26.  I specifically asked Dr. Berry from University of California/San Francisco on Saturday at the conference I attended how the vaccination rates in this country compare to other countries.  He stated that the US definitely lags behind most other countries, which I find quite disturbing.

One comment that was made on Saturday was that stress plays a big role in how HPV may influence cell change.  As to how diet, exercise, no smoking, abstaining from alcohol use, etc. may contribute to this cell change, I do not know.  But as always, a healthy diet is good for us, no matter what.

Martha

RaleighMusicGuy

I've read in numerous articles that greater than 80% of adults are infected with HPV but only a small percentage will ever develop any symptoms. As one comment said, "If you've ever had sex with someone who has had sex with someone else, you are probably infected."  Unfortunately, the importance of anal cancer screening hasn't been strongly advertised in the public forum. I suppose that was what Farrah Fawcett had hoped to accomplish with her very public journey with anal cancer.  Ironically, I remember thinking at the time, "How do you MISS something like that?!"

It is still an uncomfortable cancer to talk about and I find myself not specifying what kind I have when talking to people I don't know well; but, until the importance of vaccination is publically promoted and accepted, this cancer may well increase. I had both my daughters vaccinated as soon as it was available. I am even more thankful now that I did. Hopefully, within the next decade or two, the incidence will start declining.

It is even more frustrating to me, to feel that I was "doing everything right" to avoid all "preventable" cancers--running/walking/, eating right, etc. The only think I couldn't control was the stress in my life.  My husband and I had been in a bad place in our marriage for about 5 years  and my job was becoming more and more stressful. I commented to a nurse manager last fall, after having some unwanted duties dropped in my lap that I repeatedly said I DID NOT want, that "Y'all are trying to kill me!" Ironic....

GreenNative

RaleighMusicGuy

I wish a vegetarian diet was all you needed to prevent cancer because then I would not have gotten this one.   I asked my oncologist the same thing about how did I get this virus and how can I get rid of it, but he said what has already been noted in this thread about 80-90% of sexually active people have it and not to worry about getting rid of it. Easy for him to say!

I recently entered HPV and estrogen into Google and was shocked to see several studies that link estrogen and HPV cancers in the anogenital area. There may be other causative factors that have yet to be defined.

I don't know that this is something we can ever really get the answer to for ourselves, but you are on the other side of the treatment and on the mend.  That is good news!

Best,

N

mp327

Bjc57 said:

RaleighMusicGuy

I've read in numerous articles that greater than 80% of adults are infected with HPV but only a small percentage will ever develop any symptoms. As one comment said, "If you've ever had sex with someone who has had sex with someone else, you are probably infected."  Unfortunately, the importance of anal cancer screening hasn't been strongly advertised in the public forum. I suppose that was what Farrah Fawcett had hoped to accomplish with her very public journey with anal cancer.  Ironically, I remember thinking at the time, "How do you MISS something like that?!"

It is still an uncomfortable cancer to talk about and I find myself not specifying what kind I have when talking to people I don't know well; but, until the importance of vaccination is publically promoted and accepted, this cancer may well increase. I had both my daughters vaccinated as soon as it was available. I am even more thankful now that I did. Hopefully, within the next decade or two, the incidence will start declining.

It is even more frustrating to me, to feel that I was "doing everything right" to avoid all "preventable" cancers--running/walking/, eating right, etc. The only think I couldn't control was the stress in my life.  My husband and I had been in a bad place in our marriage for about 5 years  and my job was becoming more and more stressful. I commented to a nurse manager last fall, after having some unwanted duties dropped in my lap that I repeatedly said I DID NOT want, that "Y'all are trying to kill me!" Ironic....

Bjc

I have to disagree with your statement about Farrah Fawcett hoping to bring awareness to anal cancer, at least in the beginning of her journey.  It's my understanding that it was not until an employee at the hospital where she was treated leaked information about her diagnosis that the world knew she had anal cancer.  At that time, it became public knowledge and that was when she began being open public about it.  Had her medical records not been revealed without her knowledge, we may have never known her true story.  All that said, I have always greatly admired her for stepping into the public eye about it, making the documentary, and using her celebrity status to raise awareness.  Had she survived, I truly think she could have made a difference.  Also, just like the rest of us, she was entitled to her privacy and the breach of her medical records was wrong.

Martha

Bjc57

mp327 said:

Bjc

I have to disagree with your statement about Farrah Fawcett hoping to bring awareness to anal cancer, at least in the beginning of her journey.  It's my understanding that it was not until an employee at the hospital where she was treated leaked information about her diagnosis that the world knew she had anal cancer.  At that time, it became public knowledge and that was when she began being open public about it.  Had her medical records not been revealed without her knowledge, we may have never known her true story.  All that said, I have always greatly admired her for stepping into the public eye about it, making the documentary, and using her celebrity status to raise awareness.  Had she survived, I truly think she could have made a difference.  Also, just like the rest of us, she was entitled to her privacy and the breach of her medical records was wrong.

Martha

Farrah

I did not remember hearing about the privacy breach concerning Farrah's medical records. I agree that that was a horrible instance of privacy violation and should have resulted in that employee losing their job! HIPAA restrictions and regulations are strongly drilled into our heads annually at my hospital (and I would assume ALL medical facilities as it is a Federal law) and that employee certainly should have been aware of the consequences of such a blatant violation.  Knowing that now, I agree with you that she probably had no plans of being so public. Afterall, I doubt most people were even aware such a cancer existed up until her public diagnosis, because it has been such an indelicate subject to talk about and is still laden with embarrassing stigma.  I am thankful, though, for her courage, after the fact, to bring this cancer to the attention of the world.

Thank you for the correction and added information.

Becky

oncology12345

GreenNative said:

RaleighMusicGuy

I wish a vegetarian diet was all you needed to prevent cancer because then I would not have gotten this one.   I asked my oncologist the same thing about how did I get this virus and how can I get rid of it, but he said what has already been noted in this thread about 80-90% of sexually active people have it and not to worry about getting rid of it. Easy for him to say!

I recently entered HPV and estrogen into Google and was shocked to see several studies that link estrogen and HPV cancers in the anogenital area. There may be other causative factors that have yet to be defined.

I don't know that this is something we can ever really get the answer to for ourselves, but you are on the other side of the treatment and on the mend.  That is good news!

Best,

N

I have read that cruciferous

I have read that cruciferous vegetables are good for HPV prevention and I've increased my intake of these

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch

Cancer Club.

RaleighMusicGuy - Once a cure for HPV becomes available, the Earth will probably tilt on its axis with all of us rushing out at once to the nearest medical office to get it!

We are nature's viral condo, they move in and don't move out - HPV, Herpes, Varicella (chickenpox/shingles), HIV, Epstein-Barr (mononucleosis), there are others, too. Thank goodness that some very virulent ones, like EBOV, do clear out. HPV (and the other viruses) are part of the human condition. No use beating ourselves up about it. Even condomns yield little-to-no protection from HPV. But not all anal cancer is caused by HPV, only 95%. B^)

The best thing to do to stay on top of a cancer recurrence is to be checked on schedule. Get scanned when appropriate. If you have dysplasia (cells negatively effected by HPV), you especially need to go. Get the doctor to do regular high resolution anoscopies (HRA) with anal pap smears. A colposcope is used which magnifies the inner tissues, a pap smear is taken, then a vinegar solution is painted on the surfaces and any suspcious areas are biopsied. If the dysplasia gets worse, the doctor can treat it before it becomes a tumor. The UCSF site explains these things very well. If you haven't already thoroughly examined this site, you should. It also clearly explains why stopping smoking is the best thing we can do to combat cancer anywhere in our body.

By the way, HPV can cause these cancers: anal, perianal, penile, vulvular, vaginal, cervical, mouth, and throat. These are all epithelial tissues = skin. It does not cause rectal cancer, though anal cancer can effect the rectum if it metastasizes. From the rectum on northwards, it is no longer epithelial tissue.

UCSF "Anal Cancer Info" - http://id.medicine.ucsf.edu/analcancerinfo/
Chart of what dysplasia is like, scroll down - http://id.medicine.ucsf.edu/analcancerinfo/diagnosis/screening.html
Anal anatomy - http://id.medicine.ucsf.edu/analcancerinfo/diagnosis/anatomy.html

Bjc57 - I was like that in the beginning, too. I would just say that I had cancer "in my GI tract" (technically true). But now, what the hay - people need to know about this, so I just demurely tell them I had anal cancer. It's kinda fun seeing some of them implode a little! Then I go into my bid to convince them to be sure the kids in their life get immunized.