First of all I have read thru a lot of your posts and you guys and girls are pretty amazing, never have I seen a forum that is truly so supportive. I do not mean to make my situation anywhere near yours, but this just seems like such a good place to voice my related concerns.
So I woke up at 3am after my wife�s PC turned itself on for a system update. I couldn�t get back to sleep so I went and had a snack and read NPR while munching on some joes o's. I came across the article on OC related to HPV-16 and haven�t stopped pouring over research papers since (5 hours now).
Not knowing the risks (I was young 22 she was 21), and being very drunk, I engaged in one oral sex session 4 years ago on a girl that had a history of HPV and had part of her cervix removed a year prior to our dating. I thought at the time that HPV only affected women, WTE of warts, and had my next girlfriend (now wife) get the vaccine before we engaged in sex. I don�t know the strain that I was exposed to, but it seems like there is a good chance that it was HPV-16 as it makes up the majority of the 18 strains that cause cervical cancer.
I am not sure how easy it is to pass HPV-16, but it seems to move readily between people (one study even suggested kissing as a vector), so I can�t say one way or another if I even have HPV, just that I was exposed to a cancer causing type.
I have found out that there are 6 million new American cases of HPV a year, and around 8% of those are HPV-16, so that means there are 480,000 new cases of HPV-16 a year.
There are 37,000 new cases of OC a year, and the recent study said that 65% is related to HPV (and another that 90% of HPV+ cancers are HPV-16), so that means that 21,645 cases of OC are caused by HPV-16 each year.
Thus if a person has HPV-16 there is a 4.51% chance they will get OC cancer.
Of course qualitatively according to cancer.gov most high-risk HPV infections of the mouth result in no symptoms, and only a very small percentage results in cancer.
Ok so I am clearly in panic mode with all those factoids, but until I found this site I was going 100mph trying to access my risk.
I know I am fortunate to just be worrying about getting cancer, vice battling cancer, but I am wits end. I am hoping to get advice on how to live my life to lessen the chances of getting OC, what to look out for, how to address my PCM with my concerns (I have a long history of throat problems, predating my exposure to HPV).
Oh yeah, about me. 26 y/o male, married, white, middle class, germ phobic, never smoked, light drinker (that�s stopping now), not a super healthy eater (changing that, anti-oxidants here I come), not a workout fiend (moving to 30 min a day every day), slightly overweight at 175lbs and 5�10�

Additonally, my mother had cervical cancer at a late age due to an infection from her second husband,but no other family history of cancer, figured it might be relevant. Also I have never done drugs, noticed pot was a risk factor.

Thanks for reading

There is nothing you can do that will prevent you from getting oral cancer or any other kind of cancer. The guardasil vaccine will help but in life there are no guarantees. Go out and live your life, be healthy and not worry. You cant go thru life worrying about things like this. Its beyond your control. Even the healthiest most physically fit and selective person can get cancer.

@Justaguy,

HPV OC is an Oropharynx OC, so the new incident rate is less than your calculations, but growing.

Studies have shown the risk of HPV OC goes up with the number of sex partners a person has (particularly oral sex partners). Your odds of developing HPV OC from a single exposure are extremely low.

Supporting and advocating vaccination programs for all our children and youth can end the spread of HPV OC.

Justaguy,

I would suggest doing some drugs and stop worrying about it...I would recommend vaporizing MJ just to chill and shut the mind off. Or ask for a script antianxiety med if you want to stick to the straight and narrow.

In all seriousness, all you can do is keep an eye out for anything suspicious in your mouth, go to regular dental checkups, stand on your head and drink water while reciting the alphabet and then play hopscotch. You should be safe then.

Yes that was absurd but there's a point there. It's awesome to be concerned and aware that you have risk factors. Educate yourself to know the warning signs and take the proper precautions for early detection. DON'T LIVE IN FEAR! If you're going to get it, then it'll happen (I was a nonsmoker, light drinker, hpv- and the pillar of health and look where it got me) but don't let it stress you buddy.

Sorry for the joking, just trying to lighten you up a bit.

Eric

I can't find that thread that was just around about a week or two ago about the odds of getting HPV+ oral cancer, bee stings etc. Anyone who finds it please add a reference to it on this thread.

Hi Brian:

Type "bee stings" in the search box and you'll see it I'm so smart!

julieann

You are, I should have thought of that.... Here is the link to that thread with the posts about relative risks. http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=129420&page=1

Brian

What really caught my eye is the comment that Jill (Kenswife) posted re what their oncologist said: ". . if you have had more than 2 partners in your lifetime you have most likely been exposed to HPV". Seems to me that the who, what, where, when or how one gets it matters not as much as what we do from here on out to protect ourselves and our children.

Also please don't loose sight of the fact that our immune system typically filters out the virus and in only a very percentage of the exposures does the virus invade the squamous cell and control it's reproduction and growth rate. The fact that by age 50 appx 80% of women test positive for the HPV antibodies coupled with the low rate of HPV cancers supports that. Of course anytime we can eliminate a cancer causing organism and therefore the cancers that it causes with a simple, proven safe vaccine is such a no brainer but to see how it has become a political beach ball is also unfortunately a reality that we must continue to fight.

Live your life as it is meant to be. Maybe you will never even come close to OC as probably the odds are with you. If something ever develpos in your mouth, then it's time to get it checked by a good ENT and they will biopsy it if it is suspicious. Even then it isn't Cancer until it is confirmed. Enjoy your wife and kids if you have kids. ou have gotten good advice from all of the posters so go by what you have been told.

Taking good care of your immune system can help you fight off many illnesses, OC included. Make sure you always get restful sleep, eat fruits and vegetables (a link in some opinions to preventing OC) and try to de-stress as much as possible. And, try not to worry until something or someone directly gives you something to worry about! See your dentist regularly, See your doctor when you 1st notice something odd. My ex-husband waited 9 months to see his doctor about a swollen lymph node.

ps. My sons are in the process of receiving the Gardasil vaccination series.

Thank you for being aware! Best wishes to you and your wife. May all your years be filled with health and happiness!

For what it's worth, my MO also told me that repeated exposure to a virus also plays a role.