‘It’s crucially important that teenage boys get the HPV vaccine’
WHEN David Hughes went to the doctor after noticing swelling on his tonsils, he was given the devastating news that he had throat cancer.
And he was shocked to find out it was connected to the presence of a virus – the human papillomavirus (HPV) – in his system.
Now the dad of two, from Penarth, is calling for teenage boys in Wales to be included in an NHS vaccination against HPV, in a programme which is already offered to schoolgirls.
David’s teenage daughter was vaccinated by a nurse at school – but he had to pay privately to get his son protected.
“Having gone through all of this I believe it’s crucially important that teenage boys get the HPV vaccine,” said the 56-year-old.
“I understand that the health service has limited resources and often has to make very difficult choices but from an economic point of view it makes sense.
“The cost of my cancer treatment was horrendously expensive and that doesn’t just include my six weeks at Velindre. My diagnosis, follow-up scans, and my six months off work all need to be taken into account.
“I was very lucky that I was able to afford the £450 to vaccinate my son, which included three private GP appointments.
“I understand you can now get the vaccination in Superdrug and Boots for £150, but if you are scraping by on minimum wage you won’t have that spare cash.”
David said he felt “shock, horror and disbelief” when he was diagnosed with the disease three years ago.
“It came totally out of the blue,” he added.
“I would have classed myself as relatively fit and not at all overweight, never smoked, and only drink around a bottle of wine a week.
“The only silver lining to HPVrelated cancer is that it traditionally responds better to treatment than your typical throat cancer of South Wales miners, for example.”
He said telling his two children, who were 14 and 11 at the time, he had cancer was the most difficult thing he had ever experienced.
“As I didn’t have a terminal diagnosis I just told them that Dad was going to get really sick before he got better,” he added.
“Throughout the whole experience they kept the belief that I would get better and that was a huge factor in my survival and recovery.”
Within days of the diagnosis David started six weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy which led to some nasty side effects.
He added: “Head and neck cancers are difficult to treat as the collateral damage is enormous. You lose the ability to taste, it’s incredibly painful to swallow, and you lose your voice.
“My weight loss was severe and after four and a half weeks of enduring it, I was fed through a nasal tube which pumped liquid food into my stomach.”
Despite experiencing complications, including long bouts of sickness and weakness, David has made great progress.
“I am regarded by my excellent oncologist and ear, nose and throat specialist as a success story,” he said.
“I am very lucky. The impact of the cancer on my life has been very small. Some people lose the ability to swallow properly, need parts of their tongue and neck removed.
“I have lost a significant part of my hearing and my neck and jaw can seize up but things could be far worse.”
Latest figures from the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit show rates of HPV-related cancers in men are increasing at an alarming rate.
Its data has revealed rates of throat cancer tripled in Wales between 2001 and 2015, with 75% of cases occurring in men.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) – the government’s vaccination advisory committee – is currently considering whether adolescent boys should also be offered the vaccine.
Its interim advice, published in 2017, said vaccinating boys was “unlikely to be cost effective in the UK, where the uptake of vaccination in girls is high”.
That relies on the assumption that vaccinating girls will generate “herd immunity” that will indirectly protect boys.
But Professor Mererid Evans, consultant clinical oncologist at Velindre NHS Trust, claims not vaccinating boys is “inequitable”.
“It fails to adequately protect boys against HPV and places a responsibility on girls alone to tackle the infection,” she said.
“Furthermore, the availability of privately funded HPV vaccination for boys whose parents can afford it means that boys who will currently receive private HPV vaccination will be from more affluent and betterinformed groups while those from more disadvantaged groups will lose out.”
Charity HPV Action has estimated the additional cost of vaccinating boys in UK would be between £20m and £22m a year.
The Westminster and Welsh governments say they are awaiting final advice from the JCVI, who meet again in June, prior to making a policy decision on this issue.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We take advice on immunisation from the JCVI. We await their updated advice on whether to extend the HPV vaccination programme.”