Hello to all - I have not been an active poster but feel the need to get more involved. I am post surgery/radiation by almost 4 years. I am at the stage where we have extracted multiple/selected teeth, and I just had six implants placed...I too am sick and tired of not a year going by without some surgery or another. Post radiation my collar bone broke, which required surgery to remove a portion of that, then they realized that my jaw bone was broken too (not going to fix that) we were lucky in catching my cancer "early" but after my implants I went back today for post op to find out that the bone wasn't "the greatest" and we will have to see - I go back in 4 months to get the top of the implants "placed" - now I cannot open my mouth again, like it was after my radiation initially, so very limited - oh well, still alive I guess - one day I would love to bite into food instead of eating every thing little by little with a small size fork lol

to everyone out there experiencing this - I have not gone through as much as many of you but I pray for you all...

does anyone out there know, and please pardon my ignorance, if since my cancer was caused by HPV, even though I am "cancer free", if I should be letting my husband/grandson drink after me? what about kissing my husband?

Hi Patty! Sorry you are still struggling with after effects. It happens to alot of patients. I know it can be difficult to handle always being one more thing to get fixed or hurting. On a good note, you are very lucky to be here and have those annoyances. Has your doctor done the Marx protocol for extracting teeth post radiation? Thats 20 hyprebaric oxygen treatments before and 10 after the procedure? Not all dentists/oral surgeons are familiar with treating oral cancer post radiated patients and can skip this important step. that can cause HUGE issues down the road.

Sorry but Im unsure about how easily HPV can be spread. Ive read conflicting info about how easily it transmits between people.

I wish yo all the best with your ongoing problems. Hope you will feel better soon!

Be well!!!

I would say chances are your husband already has it (he may even have given it to you?).... not your child - I do know that it's generally skin to skin contact, but often through oral or vaginal, anal sex. Though I would suggest that your child be vaccinated. All children should. I doubt you can get it from sharing a cup, or a kiss. Most HPV tumors are located in the tonsil, oropharynx, base of tongue area, and from what I gather, you have to have direct contact with an HPV lesion (skin to skin) to contract it. I would definitely ask these questions of your DR. and I'm sure someone here will share their knowledge as well. take care and welcome. Sorry you're having so much trouble. I am not looking forward to this part either! ;o)

I hope someone does share knowledge about this because I have questions too. Like, kinda embarrassing, but is oral sex still safe for us if Kevin had OC @BOT and I had a bad pap come back with HPV? I would think not, but...seriously!!!

I would think that you are both already sharing the same virus since you've been together long enough to be married. He doesn't actively have lesions In his mouth I'm assuming and if he has lesions elsewhere then with as with any std its best to steer clear until healed.. Same for you - as far as I gather this form of HPV manifests tumors in the oropahrynx tonsil and BOT at that point it sounds like its been around a Long time and mutated, but originally it started out as a lesion elsewhere. I'm sure someone more in the know will be along. But from what I've read - HPV 16 is the oral HPV - HPV 18 is the one that can cause cervical c.

There has to be somebody in our group that knows more about this. I asked my doctor and he said they didn't really know whether Kevin and I are safe. There are no lesions on either of us. I just want to be sure. Of course I worry that I will get oc too. Where's David on this I wonder....

This is what I know:
HPV type 16 causes both oral cancer (mostly oropharyngeal but some larynx as well) and cervical cancer. HPV is also implicated in cancers throughout the genital region (penis, anus, vulva etc).

Because type 16 and 18 can cause cancer, they are classified as a "high risk" types along with a couple of other numbers which I can't recall right now.

We need to keep things in perspective and remember that most people who become infected with HPV - even the "high risk" types do not progress to cancer.

Most people who become infected with HPV overcome the infection and do not get cancer.

This is what I am guessing:
People who progress to cancer may have been unable to clear the HPV infection for some reason so it sits there and can, over time either cause cancer, or allow some other mechanism the opportunity to cause cancer.

Type 16 seems to get all the bad press so this might be the most common of the nasty ones, or maybe it is the easier one to test for ???

Here is some HPV info from the main OCF pages. Im hoping Brian will help with this thread as he is very well educated about the subject.

main OCF pages, HPV

Thanks Christine!!

Patty,

Welcome to OCF my dear, glad you found us, sorry you had to!

You are among friends and people who understand your fears and pain. We also understand what you've been through, and will never discount it just because some have had worse experiences, nor should you. Our experiences are relative to us, and they are difficult and should never be discounted. It's OK to say "I've been through hell", it's when you accept and acknowledge it that you can truly start to recover from the emotional damage this experience causes.

As far as your HPV concerns, well none of the research I've read definitively rules out transmission through kissing, but I believe the facts are we just don't know. It's generally accepted that genital contact is how it spreads, sex, oral sex etc... That being said, you're husband has been exposed to the virus so just being diligent and getting regular cancer screenings at his dental checkups are prudent.

When I was asked by Men's Health in their HPV article last year if having HPV related Oral Cancer has changed my wife and I's sex life, my response was "My wife and I haven't changed what we do in the bedroom, I just try and have as much sex with her as I can!"

Where it was meant to be funny, it also has wisdom in it somewhere. She's been exposed, either introducing the virus to me or I her (blame game is pointless as who cares at this point) but we know it's a factor in our relationship. So all we can do is keep vigil and have her get her regular "lady" checkups and cancer screenings at her regular dental appts etc...

I would encourage the youngins to look into getting HPV vaccinated to protect themselves when they get older as again...knowing what we know it's just prudence.

Be well,

Eric