 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | Please understand that by age 50 appx 80% (and I think that number is way short of actual)of the female population has acquired the virus sometime in their lifetime and a recent study indicates that the first time they acquire it may well be in their teens. There is no current oral test for us males other than post cancer Dx but obviously males are as much a vector for the virus as females so early on we pass it back and forth in many different ways such as kissing, touching and various sexual activities, protected or not. The huge unanswered question is why with such a large pool of people acquiring the virus worldwide do only a small number of people end up with cancer or even warts for that matter. With such a small % of the population ending up with an HPV+ cancer in relation to the number that have acquired it in their lifetime, possibly multiple infections, there is no need to get people to wear buttons or carry cards that say "I'M INFECTED WITH HPV". JM2C's
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
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