Mickey,

Welcome to the OCF forum, but sorry you had to join. Be glad you found it as it is the best website for all things OC.

This excerpt if from the OCF home page:

�There are two distinct pathways by which most people come to oral cancer. One is through the use of tobacco and alcohol, a long term historic problem and cause, and the other is through exposure to the HPV-16 virus (human papilloma virus version 16), a newly identified etiology, and the same one which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers in women. A small percentage of people (under 5 %) do get oral cancers from no currently identified cause. It is currently believed that these are likely related to some genetic predisposition.�

DavidCPA is our resident expert on HPV. For the type of cancer your husband has (BOT) it is most likely the cause considering he has no other risk factors. From what I understand, if it is HPV caused it tends to respond better to treatment than non-HPV � so this is somewhat good news. I�m in the 5% with no identified cause � yippie for me!!

For your �signature� people list relevant information about their disease or in your cause your husband�s disease. It helps other�s who read your post understand your situation and respond to you appropriately. To add your signature, go to �My Stuff�, then select �Profile� and go down to the bottom where it says �Signature�. This information will repeat on each and every post you make on the forum. Right now it looks like you have your name in the signature box � just replace it with information about your husband�s diagnosis and treatment.

The treatment for this disease is brutal, but doable. It does seem like a living �hell� while going through it, but once you are done with treatment and in the recovery mode you will slowly, very slowly, forget about parts of the treatment. Most of us do have long-term side effects, but I�ll take those considering the alternative.

By the way, you will need to keep your sense of humor to get you through this. After all, laughter is still the best medicine!

Don�t hesitant to ask any question. Also take advantage of the search functions of the website and forum � there is a lot of valuable information already out there. Wishing you and your husband the best.