Some may think another cancer awareness week is like Hallmark's Friendship Day -- nice, but not necessary.
National Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week will take place April 10-16, 2016, and it's more important than ever because there actually is a big lack of awareness.
Did you know that HPV-related throat cancer is on the rise at an alarming rate?
According to the National Cancer Institute, the three most common cancers are breast, lung, and prostate cancer. But there will be an estimated 61,000 oral and throat cancer cases in 2016; an estimated 13,000 cases will result in death.
Of those, some 9,000 people are diagnosed with cancers of the oropharynx that may be caused by HPV. The oropharynx is the middle area of the throat that includes the base of the tongue and tonsils. Furthermore, a new study found that the human papillomavirus (HPV) raises the chances someone will get head and neck cancer by at least sevenfold.
And here's the biggest takeaway of all. By 2020, if the trend continues, the annual number of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer cases in non-smoking, middle-age men is expected to surpass the annual number of cervical cancer cases, says the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. Oropharyngeal cancer is about four times more common in men than women.
We shouldn't wait four more years to watch the prediction come true, at least not without educating more people about the early symptoms of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer and HPV prevention. The CDC says 14 million people will be newly infected with HPV, or the human papillomavirus, each year.
Here's what we know about HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer today, from the CDC:
• Each year, in the U.S., about 9,000 people are diagnosed with cancers of the oropharynx that may be caused by HPV. These types of throat cancer are about four times more common in men than women.
• Oral HPV is about three times more common in men than in women.
• Early symptoms include a persistent sore throat, pain or difficulty swallowing earaches, feeling a lump in one's neck; also hoarseness, enlarged lymph nodes, and unexplained weight loss.
If you have these symptoms, you can get screened for HPV+ throat cancer. A head and neck specialist will spray your throat with a numbing agent, then insert a flexible, spaghetti-like scope through the nose to visually examine the back of the throat, base of tongue, larynx, and vocal cords.
Earlier this year, a man whose father had died from HPV+ throat cancer in October contacted me. His father had been diagnosed in April; perhaps too late. The news saddened me because if caught early and treated, HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer patients have an 85-90 percent survival rate after five years.
Come April 10-16, please take the time to pay attention to Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Week. Learn about symptoms, treatment, and how to protect the next generation against HPV infection in the first place.
Pamela Tom is the founder of HPVANDME.ORG, a nonprofit organization providing information and news about HPV prevention and HPV+ head and neck cancer.