Hi, Joey. I read your HPV posts with interest because I had similar thoughts about it causing cancer in other HPV-related cancer sites after my CC Dx. My gyno-onc didn't give me satisfactory answers, nor did my medical journal search. The women in the Facebook support group didn't have answers either.
However, during an insomnia episode this weekend I found the following from
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV:
"How do high-risk HPVs cause cancer?
HPVs infect epithelial cells. These cells, which are organized in layers, cover the inside and outside surfaces of the body, including the skin, the throat, the genital tract, and the anus. Because HPVs are not thought to enter the blood stream, having an HPV infection in one part of the body should not cause an infection in another part of the body."
It seems - to the best the medical community's knowledge today - that it's the site of infection that should cause us cancer concern (not the other sites that are prone to HPV-related cancers). I also found comfort at looking at the frequency of Dx of these types of cancers (appendix B -
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt05-hpv.html).
While I know that there are obviously knowledge gaps about HPV-related cancers ("not though to enter..."!?! "should not cause...!?!) and obviously people DO get Dx'd with the rarer cancers, I've chosen to become a prevention warrior instead of a cancer worrier. I've changed my diet (moving to vegetarian, maybe vegan), increasing excerise, decreasing stress, taking supplements (all to boost my immunity to clear the HPV). I'm reducing my body fat percentage. I'm staying on top of HPV-related cancer research (Google Scholar alerts) and doing whatever screenings are available for the other HPV-related sites, even if my insurance doesn't cover it. In this way I can sleep at night and find happiness during the day. I want to live a life with cancer, rather than let cancer rule my life.
Anyway, if you're still awake and/or reading after all that, I wish you the best in your treatment!
(BTW - If you're a Facebook user, ask to join The Teal Ladies.
It's a very active closed (no one outside the group can see you're a member of it or what you post there) international gynecological cancer online community. They have subgroups for various stages (from pre-cancer to stage IV) and treatments, it's full of smart and inspirational women.)
Hi, Joey. I read your HPV posts with interest because I had similar thoughts about it causing cancer in other HPV-related cancer sites after my CC Dx. My gyno-onc didn't give me satisfactory answers, nor did my medical journal search. The women in the Facebook support group didn't have answers either.
