Hi Amy,

I asked Jack and he said he'd like people to know that not all head and neck cancer is due to excessive drinking or smoking. I think he is pretty tired of having people assume that. His tumor is due to the HPV 16 virus and there's not enough information on that connection.

This is a silent killer and there are not always warning signs until it reaches a late stage, plus some presentations are atypical - that's why routine oral examinations and cancer screenings are critical.

I really hope that the article gets written, thanks for asking our thoughts.

Regards JoAnne


JoAnne - Caregiver to husband, cancer rt. tonsil, mets to soft palate, BOT, 7 lymph nodes - T3N2BM0, stage 4. Robotic assisted surgery, radical neck dissection 2/06; 30 IMTX treatments and 4 cycles of cisplatin completed June 06.