HPV

Should I be worried about oral HPV and throat cancer?

Read about throat cancers linked to HPV and now I am examining my own throat daily. Is there a test I should be asking for?

half_moon 3 weeks ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

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northwindow 3 weeks ago

There is no approved screening test for oral HPV, which is frustrating but also means there is nothing you are failing to ask for.

HPV is associated with a majority of cancers in that part of the throat, and most oral HPV infections clear on their own without ever causing anything. The absence of a test is because no screening programme has been shown to help, not because nobody thought of it.

green_door 3 weeks ago

What actually is actionable: vaccination protects against the types most involved, and not smoking matters. Both do more than any amount of throat inspection.

brown_paper 3 weeks ago

Symptoms that deserve a doctor rather than a mirror: a lump in the neck, a sore throat or hoarseness lasting weeks, trouble swallowing, or a persistent one sided earache. Daily self examination will not find anything and will keep you awake.

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