HPV and throat cancer

buzz99
buzz99 Member Posts: 404
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I would like some info on HPV causing throat cancer. My husband has been diagnosed with Stage IV tongue cancer. He is a non-smoker and has been since college days (he is 66 now).
We have been married for 37 years. How long does this virus stay active? He has not had his cancer tested for HPV so we don't know if that is the cause but could that be the explanation?

Comments

  • denistd
    denistd Member Posts: 597
    #2
    HPV
    Yea HPV can cause the cancer, it is the same virus that causes some uterine cancers. My understanding is that you can have it your whole life and never know. It;s listed as an STD, I don't know about that, but they say that millions of people have it. Denis
  • delnative
    delnative Member Posts: 450 Member
    #3
    denistd said:

    HPV
    Yea HPV can cause the cancer, it is the same virus that causes some uterine cancers. My understanding is that you can have it your whole life and never know. It;s listed as an STD, I don't know about that, but they say that millions of people have it. Denis

    HPV
    There's plenty of credible information out there on HPV and throat cancers. Just Google it and you'll find plenty.
    FWIW, I was Stage III with SCC of the right tonsil and one lymph node involved. My tumor was HPV-positive. Did I get cancer because I had HPV? Was it because of all the various substances (ahem) that I smoked over the years, including tobacco for an 18-year period? Was it due to alcohol, which I still drink (in moderation)? Or was it a combination of all three, or two of the three, or just one? Who knows?
    In any event, the statistics say that if your tumor was HPV-pos, your survival chances are much better than if it isn't. Of course, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, so your mileage may vary.
    Either way, the treatment is the same, and it sucks. But this is a survivable cancer.

    --Jim in Delaware
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #4
    delnative said:

    HPV
    There's plenty of credible information out there on HPV and throat cancers. Just Google it and you'll find plenty.
    FWIW, I was Stage III with SCC of the right tonsil and one lymph node involved. My tumor was HPV-positive. Did I get cancer because I had HPV? Was it because of all the various substances (ahem) that I smoked over the years, including tobacco for an 18-year period? Was it due to alcohol, which I still drink (in moderation)? Or was it a combination of all three, or two of the three, or just one? Who knows?
    In any event, the statistics say that if your tumor was HPV-pos, your survival chances are much better than if it isn't. Of course, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, so your mileage may vary.
    Either way, the treatment is the same, and it sucks. But this is a survivable cancer.

    --Jim in Delaware

    Ditto ~ Exactly
    Minus the tobacco use....

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