I apologize for coming off defensive - like you, I have been through the trauma of this terrible disease and my guard is still up. My wife has been battling it for 7 years, since we were 22 years old and newly married. We went through long discussions about even having children, with the poor prognosis involved, our future, etc. I myself have been beaten and battered by this, my own health deteriorating over the years. My sister also has Oral Cancer, Stage III and is currently undergoing radiation. I know what you all have been through and what you are going through - I share your pain, frustration and your skepticism.

My wife went through the 4 surgeries, has trouble speaking and swallowing, has been poked, bruised and battered for 7 of her 'best' years (arent our 20's supposed to be fun?), together we have been through all of the emotional highs and lows associated with cancer, and wanted to cautiously share our good news with the rest of you.

It was difficult to make the above post. I KNOW that you all want to grab onto any and all hope that comes your way. I did not want to offer any FALSE hope, because that makes you sink even lower emotionally. Believe me, with all of the herbs, teas, cherries, yoga, vitamins, diets (we even did a strict Candida diet together - that was TORTURE), all of the hope planted on each treatment and all of the end-result disasters, I was very cautious before posting. We tried this Herpes inhibitor and voila, she's seems to be improving (she is due for a follow-up in 2 months).

I was torn. Do I share this very unscientific and possibly harmful story with you? Or do I keep it to myself, in fear of causing further harm to some already desperate and badly treated people? I decided that inaction was the worst thing I could do - if this drug really does work - even for .000001% of patients and it helps ONE person, then it was worth it. I could not live with myself knowing my wife was walking around cancer-free without at least sharing my insight and what I have experienced with others.

I am an engineer by trade and think with math. This sort of thing ran through my mind:

FACT: Cervical Cancer is related to Oral Cancer
FACT: HPV is definitively linked to Cervical Cancer
FACT: HPV is definitely related to HSV (Herpes) in both delivery and in the way it attacks DNA
FACT: The same strains of HPV and HSV can exist both in the cervix and in the oral cavity
FACT: My wife has had HSV in her mouth since she was 5, and her herpes outbreaks coincide with the timing of her cancerous growth and development.
FACT: The only thing to change in the past 2 months was her going on Valtrex.
FACT: Valtrex is a known inhibitor of HSV, it disrupts the process by which HSV multiplies itself and spreads to other cells in the body - it forces the virus to 'sleep'.
FACT: In the last 2 months her tumor has shrunk and then seems to have completely disappeared.
FACT: HSV shows up in the same cell-types that Oral Cancer does - mouth, tongue, nose, ears, even eyes.

I had no choice but to share this with you. I would say that if you have had cold sores for years, and either started with pre-cancer or currently have pre-cancer, that you might want to give it a try. My wife was only diagnosed with full-blow invasive cancer once - at her first surgery, so I do not know if this treatment would do anything at all for full-blown cancer. I have no idea if it will help, but Valtrex is a common drug used by millions of people to curb Herpes outbreaks and it most likely cannot hurt to try it.

Fred