My Nonprofit Reviews

Our story began with a sore throat that just wouldn't go away. My husband probably waited longer than he should have to check it out. His first diagnosis in the spring of 2013 was "acid reflux." The attending ENT did not even give him a scope of his throat, prescribed medication,
and told him to return in four months. We decided to see a different specialist early in the fall and were given some devastating news: Stage Four base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Later it was confirmed that it was HPV 16. In 2013 this diagnosis came as a 2 x 4 across our foreheads. Throat cancer? But you never smoked!

One of the first places I was able to find some answers, as well as support, was at HPVANDME. This work is so valuable and necessary for those working through the diagnosis, and for helping to educate young and old alike on the necessity of getting the vaccine. We are now a decade out from that first diagnosis. My husband had a recurrence in 2020 and needed complete surgery to remove all cancerous tissue with margins that included the removal of his vocal cords. This was extremely devastating as he is a trained broadcaster. But, he is alive today. His doctor says, "I have no other patient." Meaning, I have no other patient with the diagnoses that you received who has survived as long as you. There is hope with this diagnosis, but we must educate the masses about the rising incidence, and vaccinate our next generation.
Mari Martin, Author of Come Home Alive: The Power of Knowing How to Work Together to Make it Through the Crisis of Cancer