The odds are in your husbands favor! HPV positivity is the best prognostic measure we have so far in regards to head and neck cancer survival, as was mentioned. There are articles on this. Just recently, one small study about scanning and physical exams finding most HPV positive oropharyngeal cancer, and general times to recurrence.

Most of these recurrences were detected by either persistent disease appearing on 3 month post treatment imaging or by patients presenting with symptoms at follow-up visits. I can attest to that since I found all my recurrences, except one, by self palpitation, which were confirmed by imaging, biopsy. The other, was only found by imaging, due to the pec flap.

In this article, which are similar to others I've read, within 3 years, local control was 97.8% of all patients, regional control in 95.3%, locoregional control in 94%, and freedom from distant metastases was 91%. Even this article mentions "high cure rates", which term I heard used many times before.

I wish the best for your mother!

http://oralcancernews.org/wp/imagin...es-of-hpv-positive-oropharyngeal-cancer/