Nearly all cervical cancer cases — an estimated 99.7% — are linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The virus is also associated with more than 90% of anal cancers and approximately 69% of vulvar cancers.
For Eileen McGill Fox, the devastating reality is that she is battling all three types of cancer.
The mother of four, who had been married for nearly three decades, sought STI testing immediately after discovering her husband’s infidelity in 2017. Her initial results came back negative for syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV.
However, a year later, a routine Pap smear revealed that she had HPV — a virus not typically included in standard STI screenings.
After discovering her husband’s infidelity, Eileen Fox learned she had HPV — a diagnosis that would eventually be followed by three different cancers associated with the virus.
Just two months after testing positive for HPV, Fox was diagnosed with vulvar cancer. A cervical cancer diagnosis followed shortly afterward, and five years after her initial HPV diagnosis, she learned she also had anal cancer.
For the past seven years, Fox has endured a grueling series of treatments, including a hysterectomy to treat cervical cancer and repeated, painful laser procedures and skin removal treatments targeting precancerous cells on her vulva and inside her anal canal.
Although Fox suspects her husband’s infidelity may have exposed her to HPV, there’s no way to determine exactly when she contracted the virus. Certain strains can remain dormant for years or even decades, although most HPV infections clear naturally within approximately two years.
HPV is associated with several cancers, including cervical, throat, vaginal, penile, and other head and neck cancers. HPV-related throat cancers, in particular, have become increasingly common.
Research also suggests that people who develop one HPV-related cancer face a higher risk of being diagnosed with another.
Doctors say HPV vaccination could have helped prevent Fox’s cancers. Now, she’s determined to raise awareness about the virus, the importance of vaccination and the stigma surrounding cancers affecting intimate parts of the body.
“When I tell people I have anal cancer, I’m like, ‘It is what it is,’” Fox told the Tampa Bay Times. “Let’s talk about vulvas and anuses and cervixes. Let’s remove the stigma and the shadow language for dealing with it.”
Fox has spent the past seven years undergoing extensive cancer treatments, including a hysterectomy and multiple painful procedures to remove precancerous tissue.
Looking back, she says she would have gotten the HPV vaccine without hesitation if she had understood the risks.
“If it can happen to a married woman of 30 years, then it can happen to anybody,” she said.
When the HPV vaccine was first introduced in 2006, Fox didn’t consider getting vaccinated because she was already married and raising children.
The HPV vaccine is routinely recommended for adolescents ages 11 and 12, although vaccination can begin as early as age 9. Catch-up vaccination is also recommended for people through age 26 who haven’t been adequately vaccinated.
In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration expanded approval of the vaccine to include adults ages 27 to 45. People in that age group are encouraged to consult their healthcare providers to determine whether vaccination would benefit them.
HPV is extremely common, with nearly all sexually active individuals expected to encounter the virus at some point in their lives. It spreads primarily through intimate skin-to-skin sexual contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex.
Although most HPV infections cause no symptoms and clear on their own, persistent infections with high-risk strains can lead to cancer. In the United States, nearly 50,000 new cancer cases each year occur in parts of the body where HPV is commonly found.
