Sophie - You are absolutely right. Because you were at an institution that had a researcher that was really looking at this, you have knowledge about your disease that others might not have. You still had to go through the same treatments, but you realize that in the end, even knowing what you do, you are still left with more questions than answers.

Let me help with a few observations. It is now believed that there are non sexual means to transfer this virus. Given how easily other forms of HPV transfer, 16 is likely no different. There is no answer to the dormancy issue related to the virus at this time. Other viruses are in you forever - bouncing through periods of activity and dormancy. Herpes Simplex 1 and 2 are an example of this. So it is also possible for some versions of HPV, but not proven at this time. Because it is such a common virus, it could be that your immune system deals with it, but you jut get re-infected over and over again during your lifetime. Lastly, it appears in preliminary studies that those people that are HPV positive before treatment, still are afterwards. This data is somewhat confusing. Because the studies are preliminary, we don't know if the people after treatment got re-infected or it persisted through treatment. If it persisted, that is a good indication that it may go dormant somewhere remote in the body from the area of the disease site. (Herpes Simplex lives on the ganglion of your nerves when dormant, far away from the oral or genital environments where it produces lesions when active.)
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Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant."