Since my hubby was diagnosed with stage 3 oral cancer in the base of his tongue, I've been a researching fool. One of the things I found out was that his cancer is often related to being HPV positive (in addition to smoking and heavy alcohol usage) , and since that is the most common sexually transmitted disease, it's a good idea to find out if the cancer is related to HPV to avoid spreading it, and also, so if he was positive, I could make sure to get my PAP tests done regularly and not put off looking into any weird neck swelling.
While the treatments for HPV+ oral cancers and HPV- oral cancers are the same, they are considered to be much more effective on the positive kinds. Well, Wayne had the test last week, and his results came back negative. On the one hand, this is good news because it means that I have not been exposed, so I don't have the additional risk factor of HPV+ for oral and cervical cancers. This is a relief. The bad news is that there really is no reason at all for him to have gotten this cancer! He's a non-smoker. He's a rare social drinker. He is completely not in any risk group for oral cancer. So why does he have it?? And now it's the kind that is less likely to respond to treatment. I really hate things that don't make any sense.
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