HPV head and neck Cancer is specifically, in the medical field, called Cancer of the mouth and throat. One of the main symptoms of this type of cancer is a noticeable lump in the neck. Doctors consider a lump in a person’s neck to be of high concern when it has grown to be more than a couple of centimeters and has been noticeable for a least a month and a half.
Other factors of concern that they see as red flags is when swallowing non-solid, chewed foods, becomes difficult, when you begin having issues with normal talking and communicating, and it becomes painful when you do so, and also when you see noticeable sores inside of your mouth (Specifically when the sores are white and/or red-colored). A symptom that tends to be missed, and sometimes mistaken for something unrelated, is pain deep inside one of the ears.
According to doctors, it is caused by a sexually transmitted virus – the human papillomavirus. This virus does not become cancer immediately after entering the system of the contracting person. Doctors say that it takes around 2 decades for this virus to transition into cancer of the mouth and throat, in some people.
Medical professionals say that those individuals who have a long history of smoking can develop cancer of the mouth and throat, with similar symptoms, to that of cancer caused by the human papillomavirus. Doctors have found that patients that are most affected with this illness, tend to be men between the ages of 40 and 69.
Through trial and error, doctors have discovered 4 different types of treatment to be most effective at treating HPV head and neck cancer. The first type is surgery. The second type is a therapy that requires radiation treatment. The third type is chemotherapy. And the fourth most effective treatment for cancer of the mouth and throat, doctors say, is immunotherapy.
Out of these four effective treatments, medical professionals have found radiation therapy and surgery to be the two most effective methods. Doctors say, that the decision on which of these four treatments to go with, all depends on the stage of cancer in which the patients are currently at.
