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Founders

HPV Cancers Alliance Founders

The HPV Cancers alliance was founded by Lillian Kreppel, Marcia Cross, and Dan Lifton.

Lillian Kreppel was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2017 and later met with many other survivors of HPV cancers. She noticed that too many HPV cancers were not getting diagnosed when they should have been. Patients were often misdiagnosed for long stretches of time, and too many were only getting diagnosed when the cancer was at an advanced stage. There is a dire lack of information about HPV cancers both in medical communities and out in the public sphere. She decided to create a foundation that would work together with other existing foundations to change this by spreading knowledge that would save lives.

Marcia Cross, famous for her memorable acting roles in Desperate Housewives and Quantico, announced that she had anal cancer first in an Instagram post and later in multiple media interviews in 2018. An Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, Marcia Cross took the brave step of telling the world about her latest accomplishment, beating anal cancer. She wanted to save lives and help people who were going through the same horrific cancer she endured. She decided it was time to destigmatize HPV cancers and speak out about them. Her commitment to this mission eventually led her to cofound our organization.

Dan Lifton is CEO of Quality of Life Labs, an award-winning research-driven health nutrition company. His company sells AHCC, a medicinal mushroom based compound that has been studied for its role in clearing HPV infections. Many HPV cancer survivors take AHCC because of this promising early research. His focus has been on graduating our foundation from "start-up" to its "growth" phase in terms of fund-raising and program development. Although he may not be a cancer survivor himself, he has devoted much time and effort to building an organization that can help those of us who have had an HPV cancer, and to ensuring that less people join our club!

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NEWS

We Mourn the Loss of Patricia Moreno to an HPV Cancer

Patricia Picture
Patricia Moreno was a spiritual fitness leader who revolutionized fitness by integrating positive psychology and exercise. She influenced thousands by inspiring acceptance, authenticity, health, and joy through exercise. Her untimely death at 57 from an HPV-related cancer reminds us all that no matter our age or how healthy we are, we are all vulnerable to HPV cancers.

So many of us are unaware of the danger of HPV-related cancers. Many women with same sex partners are often unaware of the importance of PAP tests and the necessity of screening for HPV. Hopefully, Patricia Moreno's tragic and untimely death can raise awareness for all of us, but especially in the lesbian community, of the importance of annual PAP tests.

Patricia Moreno’s approach to fitness was inspirational for our Executive Director, Lillian Kreppel, whose love of exercise helped her maintain her health and strength through her cancer journey. In gratitude, we dedicate this newsletter to Patricia Moreno.

Katie Couric Media Highlights HPV and HPV Cancers

One of our goals is that high profile figures who can reach large audiences spread awareness about HPV and HPV cancers. So, we are very happy that Katie Couric Media published an informative article about HPV that quoted our board member Dr. Karyn Goodman.

"While you can contract HPV at any age, Dr. Goodman, who’s also the associate director of clinical research at The Tisch Cancer Institute and an advisor to the board at The HPV Cancers Alliance, tells us that if people develop HPV later in life, “it’s likely that they were exposed to it when they were younger, before the vaccine was available.” She knows this because “we’re seeing a decrease in HPV infection rates in young adults who’ve been vaccinated, so the vaccine is clearly effective.” So if vaccination rates in young people continue to increase, “this will likely lead to fewer older adults testing positive for HPV in the future.”

PAST EVENTS

No Longer Invisible -Learning from Survivors

St Jude's Path to a Bright Future Initiative

Our Executive Director, Lillian Kreppel, and our board member Jason Mendelsohn spoke about their individual cancer journeys along with other survivors of HPV related cancers at a webinar hosted by St. Jude's HPV Cancer Prevention Program. This event kicked off St. Jude's important HPV vaccination campaign "Path to a Bright Future." The campaign aims to dramatically improve on-time HPV vaccination rates by everyone’s 13th birthday to reduce the threat of HPV cancers later in life.

International HPV Awareness Day

One Less Worry Campaign - Social Media Storm

Friday, March 4, 2022

We supported our mission partner the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) on the 5th International HPV Awareness Day by helping them kick off their "One Less Worry" campaign, a campaign to get people vaccinated so they won't have to worry about HPV. We participated in their live-panel event "Delivering A World with One Less Worry – Implementing HPV Vaccination for All" and published stories about HPV cancers on all major social media platforms.

Data analysis of social media engagement with the "One Less Worry" campaign shows that it has already reached more people around the world than ever before.

TAKE ACTION

Tell Your Story on Social Media Using

#onelessworry

You too can support the IPVS's "One Less Worry" campaign. If you are an HPV cancer survivor, tell your story on social media using the hashtag #onelessworry.

Let's raise awareness and increase HPV vaccination rates around the world!.

Read the link below to learn about more ways to use social media to spread the word about HPV.

APRIL-HEAD AND NECK CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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IN THE OFFICE

with Dr. Marcelo W. B. Araujo

American Dental Association

Chief Science Officer

For head and neck cancer awareness month, we interviewed our board member Dr. Araujo to discuss the work he has done with the American Dental Association to combat HPV and oral and oropharyngeal cancer. The ADA has taken impressive and far reaching steps to ensure that dentists prevent and diagnose cancer.

The ADA has made special efforts to reach pediatric dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons because they see patients aged 11 through 18, the age at which HPV vaccination is most effective.

The ADA has also designed brochures, courses, and other material to continue to educate dentists about HPV and oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

ADA guidelines now recommend that dentists:
  • Examine patients for oral and oropharyngeal cancer
  • Vaccinate patients against HPV or at least refer patients to a pharmacy or other doctor for vaccination
  • Include HPV vaccination status in patient medical background questionnaires
  • Educate patients about HPV and HPV cancers

CLINICAL TRIALS

Incyte is seeking patients for a clinical trial of Retifanlimab, an immunotherapy for recurrent or metastatic cancer

Incyte is currently conducting a Phase 3 global, multicenter, placebo-controlled double-blind randomized study of an immunotherapy called Retifanlimab and is recruiting patients with inoperable locally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC) not previously treated with systemic chemotherapy for a trial.

Renowned oncologist Dr. Cathy Eng is seeking participants for a Phase 3 Clinical Trial for Metastatic Anal Cancer

Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel + / - Nivolumab (2:1 randomization) in Metastatic Anal Cancer Patients

This phase 3 trial compares the addition of nivolumab to chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) versus usual treatment (chemotherapy alone) for the treatment of anal cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving nivolumab together with carboplatin and paclitaxel may help doctors find out if the treatment is better or the same as the usual approach for progression-free survival.
HPV ALLIANCE
Liora Square
Note from the editor, Liora Brosh: We publish our newsletter in January, April, July, and November. We share news and events related to our mission and highlight the experiences of HPV cancer survivors. We also interview medical experts about HPV cancer treatments and prevention and post this information to our website. When I was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2018, it was very difficult to find in-depth quality information about treatments for my rare cancer. I hope that the series of interviews that now live at our website will arm future cancer patients with the knowledge they need to find the best medical care and advocate for themselves.
HPV Alliance
PO Box 230575
New York NY 10023
United States
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