Tonsil cancer patient fights the stigma of HPV-related cancers

At age 62, Tom Jackson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The diagnosis is common among men his age, so he took it in stride.
But shortly before Tom was scheduled to have his prostate removed, he discovered a lump on his neck. A biopsy and CT scan of the lump revealed that Tom also had squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

John Papadopoulous, M.D., Tom’s urologic oncologist at MD Anderson in Katy, recommended he leave the prostate cancer untreated for the time being and focus on his tonsil cancer treatment. Under the care of Charles Lu, M.D., Tom underwent a h7nxq4C4NRw

combination of chemotherapy and radiation to treat the tonsil cancer under the care of oncologists Charles Lu, M.D., and Sunil Patel, M.D.; radiation oncologist Gregory Chronowski, M.D.; and surgeon Kristen B. Pytynia, M.D.

Listen to Tom discuss his journey and why he thinks the HPV vaccine is so important.

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