A dad-of-two nearly lost his tongue after a small lump under his jaw turned out to be cancer.<\/p>\n
Anthony Perriam saw his GP after feeling the lump for the first time and within weeks he had been diagnosed with a human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancer in his head and neck.<\/p>\n
HPV is a common group of viruses affecting the skin, which do not cause problems in most people but certain types can cause cancer or genital warts.<\/p>\n
Anthony, from Cardiff, said: \u00ab\u00a0I’d only ever heard of HPV in relation to cervical cancer. I had no idea it could cause cancers like this, especially in men.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
This article contains images that some may find distressing.<\/p>\n
Anthony added: \u00ab\u00a0I consider myself lucky that I can still eat and talk, but if I’d left it much later, I could have lost my tongue or even died.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Most people who become infected with HPV will clear the virus from their body, NHS Wales says.<\/p>\n
But it can cause genital warts, or even develop into cancer – most commonly head and neck for men and cervical for women.<\/p>\n
A vaccine is recommended by the NHS for children aged 12 and 13 and people at higher risk from HPV.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If you find a lump, even if it doesn’t hurt, get it checked,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0This kind of cancer isn’t talked about enough, especially among men. Early action really does save lives.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Despite not having any symptoms, a CT scan, biopsy and MRI confirmed the disease in March 2023.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I had a three-year-old and a six-year-old at the time. My first thought wasn’t about me, it was about them. I was completely petrified for them,\u00a0\u00bb the now-41-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Anthony had 44 lymph nodes from his neck removed, and the primary tumour, at the base of his tongue, was eventually found using robotic-assisted surgery.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They told me they caught it just in time,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0One of the lymph nodes was on the verge of rupturing. If it had gone any further, it could have spread.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy was tough, and Anthony lost 22kg (48.5 lbs) in weight.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0All of my saliva disappeared,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Even drinking was difficult, as everything turned to powder in my mouth.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was so weak that I eventually needed a wheelchair.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
He added: \u00ab\u00a0Being wheeled down the corridor and into radiotherapy was starting to affect my mental health.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0But my family gave me the motivation to get through it and I wanted to live to see my 40th birthday.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
HPV affects the skin and there are more than 100 different types.<\/p>\n
It can be caught from skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, vaginal, anal or oral sex, and sharing sex toys.<\/p>\n
A vaccine is offered as part of a national immunisation programme in Wales and works best when given to children aged 12 and 13.<\/p>\n
University Hospital of Wales says the vaccine has cut cervical cancer rates by almost 90% in women in their 20s since it was introduced in 2008.<\/p>\n
Sandeep Berry, consultant otolaryngologist head and neck surgeon at Cardiff and Vale health board, urged parents to encourage their children to receive the vaccine.<\/p>\n
He said: \u00ab\u00a0The HPV vaccine has been used worldwide for years, it’s safe and effective, and is part of the national immunisation programme in Wales.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It helps boys and girls stay healthy, prevents HPV-related cancer and strengthens public health overall.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The vaccine is given in Year 8 as it’s when the immune system responds most strongly and before sexual activity begins.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A dad-of-two nearly lost his tongue after a small lump under his jaw turned out to be cancer. Anthony Perriam saw his GP after feeling the lump for the first time and within weeks he had been diagnosed with a human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancer in his head and neck. HPV is a common group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}