Cancer? Mark couldn’t believe it.
“I'm a healthy guy. I've never smoked. I stay active. I'm an outdoor person,” Mark said. “I’m a prepare for the worst and hope for the best kind of a person. And so, it was bad news. You never want to hear a cancer diagnosis.”
As he and his family were preparing for his son’s wedding, Mark was blindsided with a tonsil cancer diagnosis.
Mark’s physicians recommended that he see another physician for the best personalized care in town: Dustin Silverman, MD, Assistant Professor and head and neck surgical Otolaryngologist (ENT) at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center.
“There's actually been a decrease in these smoking-related types of cancers within the United States,” Dr. Silverman explained. “But what we've actually seen is a rise of HPV-positive or human papillomavirus-positive related cancers involving the throat, the back of the tongue, and the tonsil. HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the same virus that causes cervical cancer and with the rise of HPV among men, we're seeing a marked increase in patients with cancer, just like Mark.”
Understanding HPV-Related Neck Cancer
“There's actually been a decrease in these smoking-related types of head and neck cancers within the United States,” Dr. Silverman explained. “But what we've actually seen is a rise of HPV-positive or human papillomavirus-positive cancers involving the throat, the back of the tongue, and the tonsils, collectively known as oropharyngeal cancers. HPV is the same virus that causes cervical cancer, and with the rise of HPV among men, we're seeing a marked increase in patients with neck cancer, just like Mark.”