As Brian points out and I know all to well I had no as in zero, nada, zip symptoms in my oral cavity to warn me or anyone like my dentist that I see every 4 months that I had anything suspicious occurring in my mouth. The only thing I first noticed one day shaving was the left side of my neck looked more muscular than my right side. No pain in my neck nor my mouth. No sore or raspy throat. No weight changes, no appetite loss, no energy loss, etc. I ignored my neck for about 3 weeks more before I showed my wife and WHAM, 2 months later I am a Stage IV.

Thankfully a recent study has concluded that HPV+ SCC responds better to Tx and (therefore) has a lesser chance or reoccurrence or I would have been much worse off. Imagine if all tobacco based SCC, which has proven to be a much more formidable foe, started off as Stage IV'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.