HPV+ SCCHN - post-treatment questions

Hi Pip

A sensible question considering up to 20% of us will have a cancer recurrence within the first five years. 
HPV can be detected in oral rinses but I have absolutely no idea if they are on offer in the U.K.  What do you do with the information? 

Everywhere you look antioxidants flavonoids and Vit B are the panacea. 

Numerous DNA-based vaccines have been developed to target persistent HPV infection and are currently in various stages of clinical study.

Small molecular inhibitors interrupt important processes in the virus life cycle and are being investigated. 

I haven’t discussed this at all with my team. I am content with trying to eat as healthily as I can keeping my blood pressure and cholesterol levels down 

The bottom line is that research like  this is hugely expensive and time consuming and lacks volunteers who having undergone treatment then are unwilling to take part in trials involving close frequent scrutiny. 
Add to that the fact that in the developed world at least, HPV vaccine will make this a disease of the past in two or three generations. It has already had a significant impact on cervical cancer in young women. So you see there is no financial incentive. 

Hi

My cancer wasn't hpv related but, I wonder if probiotics might help ?

I have no links or paperwork or anything to uphold that except, I had a really bad hard painful,verucca on the sole of my foot for 12 years. Nothing would get rid of it. Not over the counter stuff, chiropodist, banana skins you name it, until I started to take Optibac Everyday probiotics and it was gone in a month. The only other thing I did was change my ordinary milk to A2 (sadly no longer available). I have absolutely no idea if it was all a coincidence or what, but very greatful it was gone. By the way, if you wanted to email Optibac and ask if their products might help, they are excellent with a fair response.

Tricia

Hi Pip

aka worried wife ,I asked the same question as a female with a predominately male cancer although more women are now appearing with h p v head and neck cancer. I naturally asked for a smear test as my routine  smear isn’t until I am 64  next year they wouldn’t bring it forward , Must get round to it  when Covid is all over .Asked consultant and he said the body gets rid if it naturally every 2 years but maybe in mine and Hubbys case we’ve been passing it to each other as we’ve been together over 44 years !!! like Daninsays girls have been vaccinated in U.K. now for a good 8-10 years and boys they got started with the vaccine September last year so there’s no money in drug companies doing trials . the blood test would tell u if yiu were infected but there’s nothing magical to take to get rid of it so do as I do and don’t think about it am just grateful my cancer was h p v related .

Hazel hope you are both doing well Xx

Yes one if the first things I did at diagnosis was get a PAP test 

no HPV

Hi Tricia,

Probiotics are little wonders and the gut microbiome is a growing business at the moment. Medics are finally realising its impact on the whole body (gut brain axis). I did some work on this for a client a couple of years ago when I was working in pharmaceutical marketing.

We often take probiotics (I use Bimuno which is a pre biotic but certainly helps - I get IBS symptoms from time to time and Pete used to do a lot of business travel so I made sure he took them before travelling to developing countries!

Pete had very bad oral thrush post treatment which the usual treatments did not clear (Nystatin and Fluconazole) and at this stage I started pumping him full of Bimuno and it went!!!.

As with your verruca, there's no proof that the probiotics cleared his thrush, but hey ho, it certainly won't do any harm!

I will email both Bimuno and Optibac - thanks for the tip.

Pip

Hi Dani

I had my last PAP test in 2018 (aged 61) and that was my last (they kick you out of the system and there's nothing you can do according to my GP practice to get back in. I guess I'll have to try privately,  

Hi Hazel,

My step daughter was in the first cohort of girls to be HPV vaccinated ... anyway that's a different story. NHS is very set in its ways regarding PAP tests - see my post below. It's ridiculous because uptake in younger women is very low, so it's not as if they haven't got the capability to add in an extra test or two!

Your body usually gets rid of the virus in 2 years but not I'm afraid to say in Pete's case - or others with HPV+ cancer according to his consultant.

Anyway it could be worse as you say, just get on with life.

I used to work in pharmaceutical marketing / medical education so it's my instinct to chase after this conundrum and try and find a solution :-)

Pip x

Hi Dani,

Thanks for the wise words - I'm trying to wean Pete off sugar at the moment. In order to try and increase his weight we had to feed him lots of carbs, fats and sugar and he's got a taste for it.  Hopefully we can counter some of the damage with all the good stuff you mention. He's been taking Berocca which seems like it could be useful (lots of B vits and C). 

The irony of course is that the year preceding his diagnosis we had been pretty healthy - exercising, eating a predominantly vegetarian diet, losing weight ...

Pip x

keeping healthy is all we can do. 
I managed to convince my GP nurse to fight for a PAP At 67. She did it bless her

There are plenty of walk -in STD Clinics in big townS offering smear tests. They test for HPV first and don’t do histopatholigy unless positive HPV, negative test comes back in a matter of days 

Don't fall into the trap of sugar fuels cancer 

It’s not true

All food that is not needed for replenishing cells is turned into glucose for cellular energy. It’s all processed before the body uses it.