Cleveland's hot topic in the media this week concerns the cervical cancer vaccine and HPV.

This may be an opportunity to get the Oral Cancer message out there, through it's link to HPV.

Yesterday, during morning rush hour, a very prominent radio station in Cleveland hosted a Doctor from the Cleveland Clinic promoting the vaccine and answering questions concerning HPV. On the subject of sexuality, she stated that not only did the majority of the population have the virus, additionally, HPV virus is so prominent in our daily environment, that the sexual transmission is not the only way one could contact it. In essence, sexuality was a non issue when considering the protection the vaccine offers.

Good information getting the sexual stigma off of the subject I thought.

Cleveland's major newspaper also has been running commentary on the subject. A column written by Connie Schultz was published yesterday. She discusses the need to downplay the sexual stigma with education. She writes "Without proper education, we'll continue to read such headlines as the one that appeared last Sunday above two letters to the editor in this paper:
"Girls who behave won't need Gardisil."
She goes on to write: "We don't know yet whether boys, too, should get the vaccine to protect their partners."

Well, that was the perfect door opener to bring up Oral Cancer!

I sent her a email telling her of the rise in non risk factor males getting oral cancer and the published HPV connections. I should write a letter to the editor as well.

Brian, I wonder if you would consider bringing to the top, your advice and protocol for public statements we may wish to make. We're not all writers and speakers. Certainly not I. Some may be too timid to speak, for fear of saying something incorrectly.

I would hate for anyone to remain silent when a great opportunity presents itself to get the Oral Cancer message out.


Ginny, spouse of MikeG. SSC BOT T2N1M0 Stage III, Dx 06/27/06 at age 52, Tx 07/31/06 through 09/28/06 Chemo Cisplatin & 5FU x2, Radiation x42. Cancer free and doing well.