Hello. Im in a bit of a panic, which ill get to below. First, a little background.

I was in college many years Ago when my beloved mother was diagnosed with cancer of the tonsil. She was a smoker, so everyone thought that was what caused it. Now, I'm led to believe that HPV (usually16) is often part of this equation. This, I don't believe was known back then. Six years later, she developed lung cancer, it was not discovered early and she died. She was 49 years old. I had great difficulty coping with it.

To my great shock, through a series of bizarre incidences , I now have HPV 16. I am in my early 50s. I had a bad Pap, but the second one came out ok.

Here is my big concern and question. I am having right ear pain. I have had dental problems on the right side. I did pull the tooth. However, the ear pain on the right side remains. I did not tell the dentist about HPV. He did manually examine my mouth for any odd looking lesions twice. He said all looks fine. He said he doesn't want to do the special oral test right this second because of the stitches. I went to anENT who does know about the HPV and he said my ears and throat look fine and I have an oral problem.

What would you recommend I do next? I sense something is wrong. I have much pressure in my right ear. Even if I sleep elevated, I still have pressure in my ear, to the point on some days that is hurts. Also, the pressure/pain varies from day to day.

Should I go to another ENT? How do I find one that might have more experience looking for H and N cancers? What other symtoms are there? I do not smoke or drink and I don't seem to have any other symptoms. I'm very scared.

Help!

Thank you and God Bless.

Newbie

First of all there is nothing shameful about having HPV. Most of us do by the time we are in our 50s. I am assuming your diagnosis came from cervical PAP smear that came back positive for HPV? And the second one came back negative for HPV? That means that your body did what it does 99.9% of the time and cured itself. This means you do not have HPV.

If I have everything above correct, you do not need to be concerned that you have HPV that is going to cause oral cancer.

Now onto your fear of oral cancer in general. It is perfectly understandable that you would fear this given your mother died from it (same in my family with breast cancer) and this works in your favour because you will always be watchful. The trick is not to get paranoid about it and not to let it overtake your life.

Good that you are asking for help from your doctor and dentist. The likelihood that your ear pain is because of an unseen cancer somewhere in your mouth is actually not very high and the chances of this being referred pain because of a tooth extraction is much more likely.

However, you are doing the right thing by being vigilant and I would suggest you do as the dentist suggests - wait for the stitches to come out and THEN do the special test. But your dentist needs to be able to see a spot or a sore to test, so don't be surprised if they tell you they can't and prescribe antibiotics instead.

Keep a watch but try not be too concerned until you are over the tooth extraction and the dentist has determined there is no infection or has treated the infection.

You are already doing the best thing you can do to avoid oral cancer by not smoking and drinking. You can also maintain good oral hygiene and have the dentist check for sores or "strange" patches at every check up.

Thank you Karen. You are accurate.
But I'm also worried about throat cancer causing ear pain.

I've had the ear pain for about three weeks and the tooth was pulled a week ago. However, I had a root canal in the tooth and all sorts of trauma with that tooth for about a month. All on the same side.

I really thought that once I pulled the tooth, the ear pain would rapidly improve

I put more questions on the symptoms thread.

One of my big fears is that HPV 16 eventually leads to cancer...is this true?

Thank you...I'm terrified...trying hard not to panic. I have lots of stress inmy life, due to having adopted a special needs child. But, I don't feel like I can accept stress now and MUST learn to cope well/efficiently with all issues, no matter how difficult.

Blessings.

By age 50 a very large % of women have already been exposed to HPV. Also in a very large percentage of the time your body's immune system clears the virus. One can be reexposed to the virus often during one's lifetimes. Presently we also see NO connection between vaginal and oral HPV in that there is no evidence that the virus travels within the body to infect squamous cells in other locations.

You still should be watchful of any problem that stays around for 2 plus weeks but oral cancer is rare.

I also deleted your other 2 Topics so posters can concentrate their responses to just this Topic.

Nomad

Here were my responses to your deleted symptoms post

short answers
1. Yes
2. No, most people's immune system clears the HPV without it causing cancer
3. Maybe.

I had ear pain for over a year as my only symptom (except when one neck lymph node swelled up but subsided). The tumor was growing and pressing on a nerve. Instead of worrying yourself so much, ask for a simple CatScan (CT)of your head and neck. If there is a tumor large enough to be causing referred ear pain, then a CT will more likely than not show it. You don't need an MRI or a Petscan at this point.
Any ENT can order it.
Charm

Nomad, I hope your fears have been eased by the above posts from knowledgeable members. HPV+ is something about 80% of the population will get at one point or another, most people can clear this from their bodies and it does no harm. At this time hereditary links for oral cancer have not scientifically been established. Links between a person having cervical HPV and it turning into oral HPV have not been proven either.

Tooth pain can cause alot of pain in a persons neck, jaw and ears. Since it hurt for a while before the tooth extraction, you need to give your body time to heal. Sore throats can be caused by many things including post nasal drip. Depending where you are located, this time of year is when it bothers many people. Im not dismissing your symptoms at all. Im glad you are being watchful. I suggest waiting at least 2 weeks and if you still are feeling the same to then seek out an ENT who is experienced with head and neck cancer. Not all ENTs do this, some focus primarily on doing tubes in childrens ears.

Best wishes with your recovery from the extraction. I know it can be very painful for a while.

Thank you so much for all these wonderfully helpful and calming responses.

Charm...I can't recall my question #3. Do you happen to remember it? You answered "maybe."

I had a panoramic CT Scan at the dentist's office and sent it to the ENT. Everything looked good. It was of my mouth and sinuses. I guess this is not sufficient????

I made an appointment for tomorrow to see the ENT again because the ear pain has not abated.

Now, I have FEVER and have had it for six days. Can this be a symptom? The dentist is a little surprised...saying it is a little longer than typical to have fever like this.

Additionally, I have a history of lupus. IT has been in remission, but I understand this can make me more prone to these cancers.

I have moments that I'm ok and other not so good moments. The fever is starting to get to me.

I recall well what my mother went through. Sadly, she did not have a good support system.

Thank you again.

A fever is a sign of infection. After going thru major health problems in the past you are not like a regular healthy patient. Your healing capabilities could be a bit compromised which attributes to why you dont feel better yet.

Oral cancer can be caused by smoking or HPV+. There are many people who have no known cause but still get oral cancer. It has not been proven yet why seemingly healthy young people get this. It could be a million and one reasons. I have not heard of lupus being a risk factor for oral cancer. I for one have not been big on the 'why' question, I have been one to move past that and focus on getting the cancer eliminated. It doesnt matter why a person gets oral cancer, their treatment will be the same no matter how it occurred.

Im so sorry to hear about your mother! The old ways of treating patients were even more barbaric than what people today go thru. Im sure she went thru a very difficult time. So much more is known now but there is still such a long way to go with finding a cure. Treatments for oral cancer have changed considerably over the past 10+ years. OCF works with researchers to do many different studies about oral cancer. Thru research one day a cure can be found and then this site wont be needed anymore.

Thank you Christine.

I've been on a lot of antibiotics and no OTC pain reliever lowers the temp, so it has been a horrible six days and I'm frightened by the fever as well.

For those who have had the ear pain, is it like a very very bad pressure that ends up being painful?

Hi, fellow lupus survivor! You mentioned that your lupus is in remission - but maybe you should see your rheumy and get your c-reactive protein levels checked - maybe some of the fever/inflamation is related to that. Remember that flares are stress-related, and you certainly have the stress going.
Best wishes and keep posting.
Maria