 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | Oscar, I pushed and pushed to get my cells tested for HPV so that I may have peace of mind just knowing what caused my cancer and that was 2 years ago so you know how I will advise you. Re the medically necessary reference...IMO your mental well being is medically necessary so if finding out if you test positive or negative might help your mental outlook then do it. Does having HPV+ SCC improve your survival chances? Some say yes and some say no so I choose to listen to the experts that say yes and hope their correct. I sleep better at night that way.
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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