Thank you SO much Brian! Maybe this whole s. . . storm will have served a purpose in bringing the masses to you for a little education! I felt so badly for Mike Douglas and for his wife when I saw the eye-rolling and the innuendos on the Hoda and Kathy Lee show about who could have given him his oral cancer. He has been such a strong and great advocate for our cause. Looking forward to the interview.

I was glad to read in the mainstream newspapers balanced, factually accurate articles on oral cancer and HPV this morning. I am sorry fthat Michael Douglas and his wife had to take so much abuse from the ignorant masses, but he has succeeded in raising awareness. Today I also read that in Ontario, Canada, the public officers are going to propose to extend access to Gardasil to boys as well (girls already have access). That is a big step forward.

Michael Douglas, I applaud your courage.

I also spent a great deal of time on the phone yesterday (not as much as our GREAT ONE though) and I am trying to get one of these interviewers to put me on air. My message was simple, the focus should not be on oral sex but on HPV as it is extremely prevalent; HPV is highly transmittable; HPV causes cancer in both men and women; cancer kills and there is a proven vaccine that can prevent HPV and therefor ALL the cancers and deaths that would follow it's infection. PERIOD

This morning in The Philadelphia Inquirer online, I read an article about Michael Douglas.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...d-GlaxoSmithKline-and-well-you-know.html

I was so incensed by it and the author's immature attitude that I wrote an email to him. I am including it here. I encourage ALL of you to respond to stories that offend and just plain get it wrong by email. We are the voices of oral cancer and we can have an impact by demanding that news organizations get their facts straight and report responsibly. While I have not gotten a response from the writer yet, I hope that I do. And I will share it with you here.

[quote]David,

As the wife of an oral cancer survivor, I am disappointed that you did not delve deep enough into this story. Your claim that big pharma "drug companies make money by selling drugs to as many people as possible at the highest price possible�" shows how short sighted you are. You have down a great disservice to the readership by not relaying all of the facts.

One of the leading causes of Head and Neck cancers is the HPV virus. Most of the sexually active adult population has been infected with the HPV virus sometime in their lives. Fortunately, the immune system will clear the virus, leaving no evidence that it was there. And one can be infected multiple times.

I am writing to you because I am passionate about spreading awareness about oral cancers. My husband is a 6 year survivor of this deadly disease. For years, oral cancer was the old man's disease, affecting heavy smokers, and drinkers. My husband was neither a smoker nor a heavy drinker. We do not know the origin of his specific cancer. However, there is evidence that more and more young people are being diagnosed with HPV+ oral cancers.

I am a member of the non-profit, The Oral Cancer Foundation, who has done much to educate and inform others about oral cancer. There are over 44,000 people worldwide who rely on this website for information and support. I
suggest you go to their website and read the plethora of facts and studies done on behalf of this disease. Brian Hill, who is an oral cancer survivor himself, started this organization when he could not find the resources he needed when he was diagnosed many years ago. He works tirelessly to spread awareness about this disease. I am sure he would welcome your request for an interview.

oralcancerfoundation.org

My husband's life is forever changed. He speaks with great difficulty. Eating is a no longer enjoyable for him as he chokes and coughs during the hour long ordeal. The result from the 12 surgeries and radiation. And we are the lucky ones. There are many who have not survived, others who will never taste food again as they use a feeding tube for nutrition. My husband lost his jaw, some have lost their lives.

Michael Douglas is a supporter and advocate for The Oral Cancer Foundation. We are grateful that he has chosen to make his story public as this will help increase awareness.

Vaccinating boys will go a long way to prevention of oral cancers. Hopefully, the younger generation may not have to deal with this awful disease.

Do everyone a service and write a story that informs and educates. Take the high road. The headline, "..and, well, you know" is irritatingly pubescent. Grow up.

Sincerely,
Anita McGinn-Natali[/quote]

Well said, Anita. I had my six month check up with my ENT this morning and we discussed the snarky comments which have come out after MD's interview. My ENT reiterated what OCF has been preaching for a long time, mainly that HPV is the fastest growing cause of oral cancer. I believe that MD was trying to educate people to this very fact, and the attacks on him and his wife have been just horrendous.

Well done Anita! I would have also sent it to that reporters supervisor and/or the editor of the newspaper.

Im sure that story is not the only one floating around today that has wrong info and the person behind it could care less about making it right.

@ Davidcpa.... I hope some of the media will take you up on your offer to educate them. You know a considerable amount of info about HPV and will hopefully help them to 'get it right'. If they will only listen and absorb what you tell them.

I zipped off an e-mail to Bill O'Reilly Fox News tonight. He put down Michael Douglas about his comments concerning Oral Cancer. He said, he should keep his personal business to himself. That did it. I told him to do his homework research Oral Sex and Oral Cancer HPV and to read about it on the Oral Cancer Foundation website. I said, Michael Douglas wasn't blaming his wife he wanted others to be aware what can happen.

I can't believe how uneducated some people are he should have reserched it before opening his mouth.

I am so grateful that Brian and the OCF are here to provide fact now that the HPV/oral cancer link is now being discussed in the media!

Our local mainstream radio station were joking about this story saying MD was making up how he got oral cancer. I was fuming and fired off this email.

As a long time listener (20+ years) I was horrified this morning to hear you discuss Michael Douglas' annoucement that oral sex caused his cancer as something of fiction.

My husband, Ken, was diagnosed with stage IV base of tongue cancer like Mr. Douglas after a year of complaining of a sore throat. His cancer also tested positive for the HPV virus. Ken went through a similar treatment plan - 7 weeks of daily radition and weekly chemotherapy. He required a feeding tube and went from 280lbs to 220lbs. Less than 4 months after finishing his treatment he was diagnosed again and was scheduled to have his tongue and voicebox removed. At the time of diagnosis our daughter was 7 months old. We now faced the reality that she would never hear her father's voice or be able to sit down and have a "normal" family dinner with him. As we prepared for the surgery we tried our best to look toward the future and adjust to our "new normal". The morning before the surgery an artery in Ken's throat burst and he bled to death on our front steps waiting for the ambulance. Ken was 44 and our daughter was only 14 months old.

These graphic details are meant to shock you. They are meant to hopefully have you give pause to your comments this morning. As Ken's oncologist explained to us, if you have had more than 2 sexual partners in your life you have most likely been exposed to the HPV virus. In most cases your body is able to fight off the virus. Ken and Michael Douglas we not that fortunate. There is now a push for both girls and boys to be vaccinated with Guardasil to prevent them from contracting HPV (which also causes cervical cancer).

The Oral Cancer Foundation (oralcancerfoundation.org) is holding their Boston Walk for Awareness on October 6th at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. What better way for your to pass on CORRECT information than to help us raise awareness for this REAL and deadly disease. I would be happy to be a part of your show to discuss my story and would welcome KISS as a sponsor of our walk. I have attached the information about the walk and sponsorship.

Good work, as always, Brian!

Great email, Anita!

I did end up sending my email off to FOX News, but got no response. I'm not surprised.

As some of you may know, I was one of the first HPV+ OC patients to go public in 2008 with the cause for my cancer. It was not easy at the time; I was on Good Morning America and The Doctors. Both programs did their darndest to put a sensationalist spin on the story. I tried my best not to feed into it. It was difficult to go public with the story, but I would do it again if need be. I did it because people need to KNOW. Doctors need to KNOW. And clearly, the general public still needs to know, despite the efforts of Brian Hill and the OCF, and OC patients!
There was a 2-3 year delay in my treatment because a unilaterally swollen tonsil in a young healthy woman was deemed no cause for concern. My tumor sat there staring my ENT in the face while it grew to the size of a walnut. Only when it was taking up half my throat did they remove it and discover it was cancer.
My point is that if the HPV link to OC were more commonly known, I would have been diagnosed MUCH earlier and not have needed such an agressive treatment. I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS IN 2005! I wish someone like me(or Michael Douglas) had come forward with this information. That is why I am passionate about people understanding the HPV connection to this cancer. And I don't care what people do with their sex lives; they just need to HAVE this information instead of hiding their heads in the sand about it. As far as I'm concerned people can keep on doing whatever it is they do behind closed doors but they need to be educated about the HPV link so that early detection, if need be, can take place.

I am extremely concerned about Michael Douglas's need to back peddle. I am also concerned that since Michael Douglas was known for his promiscuity, people may think it can't happen to them if they are not, or never were, promiscuous. Which we all know is not true, but I can see where that one will be going in the media.

The sophomoric reactions are really ridiculous. I just want to scream "grow up, people!" It's all funny until it happens to them personally, or to a loved one.

Teresa