With World Head and Neck Cancer Day coming up on July 27th and no stalls this year I am going to start talking about prevention and early detection on my social media platforms.
I was talking to someone yesterday about the gruelling treatment for HPV-related cancer which is curable at a late stage but knocks your life back in a big way. Two things about this branch of head and neck cancer. 1) It is preventable for the next generation with the Gardasil vaccine and 2) if detected early, like all cancers, it is easier to treat.
It’s hard to believe that neck lumps are still not being diagnosed quickly. I think there is still a long way to go in public and possibly GP awareness. A sore throat or ear that just won’t go away can also indicate HPV-related HNC.
I thought we could use a new angle to promote the vaccine this year as the FDA now has enough data to formally approve the use of Gardasil to prevent throat cancer as well as cervical cancer. Drug companies couldn’t push it until then although everyone knew it was effective and public health in most similar countries encourages the vaccine for boys as well as girls.
Funnily enough our branch of Merck, the company involved, has to wait for the FDA approval to go through the NZ regulatory process before they can advertise it. I emailed Merck and it took TWO people to explain this to me (they were very nice) and I still understand it only vaguely.
I think raising awareness of the vaccine for future generations and of early detection for our current cohort of middle-aged adults is one valuable thing we can do to save lives. HPV-related HNC is very treatable but the treatment is awful and not everyone is cured.
