HPV-positive Oropharyngeal Cancer- AHCC

Hi Brian-

I am sorry to read of your tonsil cancer. At stage 2, loco regional, I think your prognosis should be pretty good.

Your doctors have never been educated in any therapy that is not FDA approved. Nothing against conventional medicine, just the war the FDA does things in the US.

Yes, I continue to be cancer-free aka complete remission. My HPV status is more difficult to assess as I have not had any testing for this since my original cancer diagnosis. No warts of any kind though this metric is less than scientific.

Regarding local radiation therapy to your mouth area- Consider supplementing both with curcumin as well as resveratrol. Both supplements are accessible on amazon (I buy Life Extension Foundation brand for each)

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/21/5267

Also, you will probably sustain radiation fibrosis aka scarring. I encourage you to undergo both hyperbaric oxygen therapy to heal this damage as well as acupuncture to prevent xerostomia aka dry mouth.

Conventional oncology and I disagree on all forms of supplementation during chemotherapy and radiation. The safest way to proceed is to stop all supplementation the day before therapy and begin again once therapy ends.

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck,

David Emerson

Hi A Mason-

I know of tests only for my cancer, multiple myeloma. I would think there is a test for you as well but ask your oncologist.

David Emerson

Hi Neil-

The study linked in the blog post that you read indicates that the HPV virus can be cleared with AHCC. I would discuss taking AHCC with your oncologist. Though my cancer is different from yours, I did have HPV, I did take AHCC (Now brand) and I believe I have cleared the virus from my system. You have to think through this therapy with your oncologist. I took the dose listed on the bottle.

I have not studied your cancer but I believe there are other nutritional supplements, such as curcumin, resveratrol, omega-3 fatty acids) that can help your prognosis. Again, you have to discuss your therapy plan with your oncologist.

Let me know is you have any other questions.

Thanks,

David Emerson

Hi Rachael,

If I understand your questions, you are concerned about the following issues- 1) was my papilloma caused by the HumanPapillomaVirus (HPV) virus, 2)is my papilloma cancerous and 3) will AHCC supplementation clear my papilloma? I will link and excerpt an article about papilloma below in an effort to address your questions/concerns.

While the article linked below explains that “most papilloma are caused by HPV,” it does not address the issue of possible therapies other than “treating” the growth. As you read from the post you came in on, I have supplemented with AHCC and I believe I have cleared the virus.

Please read the excerpts below and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

David Emerson

Should I worry about a papilloma?

Papillomas are noncancerous, outward-growing lumps that might cause problems in some locations. They do not spread and are not aggressive.
However, be sure to receive a clinical opinion on any lump or skin lesion. If a lump turns out to be a more severe type of lump, it is important to intervene early.

Another reason for getting medical attention is that papillomas can cause complications or discomfort, and sometimes require additional treatment even though these problems are likely to be neither cancerous nor life-threatening.

“While papillomas are not, by themselves, cancerous, they are linked with a higher risk of cancer. Women who have received treatment for multiple breast papilloma, for example, might be monitored just in case cancer also occurs…

Papillomas are benign growths. This means that they do not grow aggressively and they do not spread around the body.

The growths only form in certain types of tissue, although these tissues occur all over the body. Papillomas are often known as warts and verrucae when they reach the skin. They can also form in the surface of the moist tissues lining the insides of the body, such as in the gut or airway…

A diagnosis of benign papilloma means that the lump presents no cause for concern.

However, a person might still want to address or treat a papilloma, as they can cause pain, irritation, and concerns about appearance…

Causes
Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes most papillomas.

For some papillomas though, HPV is not the main cause. One example is an inverted papilloma of the urinary tract, which research has linked to smoking and other potential causes.

For papillomas of the skin, where HPV is known to be the cause, skin damage can promote the development of a papilloma. Scratching at or picking a wart can also lead to further infection. However, the growth itself cannot spread to another location.

While there are links between HPV and cancer, especially cervical cancer, researchers believe that it takes between 10 and 30 years for HPV to develop into a malignant condition. Less than 50 percent of precancerous cervical lesions from HPV make the transition…

When a papilloma or group of papillomas grow in the larynx, it can obstruct the process of breathing. This causes a rare condition known as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, which occurs mostly in children.

Symptoms include hoarseness, a quiet or weak cry, and airway obstruction, in severe instances.

This can also return after treatment or transform into a malignant tumor. Because of this, it might become necessary to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis multiple times…

Doctors can treat warts on the skin using the following methods:

cautery, which involves burning off the tissue and then scraping it away using curettage
excision, in which a doctor surgically removes the papilloma
laser surgery, a procedure that destroys the wart using high-energy light from a laser
cryotherapy, or freezing off the tissue
applying liquid nitrogen onto warts or injecting them into the papilloma
Drugs applied to papilloma tissue on the skin are also used to destroy warts. Examples include:

5-fluorouracil
cantharidin
imiquimod
Doctors might prescribe others, depending on the type of wart.

Hi John,

AHCC may help you if your tongue cancer was HPV positive.

David Emerson

Hi Brett-
I am sorry to read about your cancer diagnosis but you sound very positive about your diagnosis and treatment.
Let me first confirm. You are talking about”P16 positive, HPV positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma?”

You are correct in wondering if your wife’s cancer was HPV related as well. While there is no way to tell at this point there is a strong link between HPV and cervical cancers. My understanding of oncology is that HPV’s impact on cancer was not well understood in 2003.

To learn more you could search “cervical cancer, HPV.” There are lots of articles and studies.

As for your question ” but it is hard to find out more information about the future, or past causes. Especially when discussing oral sex!! Hoping someone can help me with this. Who/where should I ask?” You are correct, oncology does not study much about therapies to remain in remission. My experience is to consider AHCC- please read the link below-

Mushroom extract, AHCC, helpful in treating HPV

“Currently, there is no effective medicine or supplement to treat HPV, which is associated with more than 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several other cancers are related to HPV, including 95 percent of anal cancer, 60 percent of oropharyngeal, 65 percent of vaginal cancer, 50 percent of vulvar cancer and 35 percent of penile cancer.

AHCC is a readily available nutritional supplement that works to improve the innate immune system. Human and preclinical studies have shown that AHCC increases the number and/or activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells and cytokines, which help the body fight off infections and block tumor growth….”

p16 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma:an entity with a favorable prognosis regardless of tumor HPV status.
“CONCLUSIONS:

Outcomes for p16 positive, HPV negative oropharyngeal SCC are not significantly different from p16 positive, HPV positive tumors and are significantly better than for p16 negative tumors. These results suggest that p16 immunohistochemistry alone is the best test to use for risk stratification in oropharyngeal SCC.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20588174

David Emerson