This is a thread about #cancerresearch, recurrences, and how viral+ ( #HPV) cancers need better treatment options.

It's also a helluva story. (THREAD)

I belong to four cancer survivor groups: Colorectal, Cervical, Endometrial, and Thyroid. (Hilariously, only 3 of those cancers are related. One is pure luck.)

I am closest to my #cervicalcancer sisters. And one has been with me for 13+ years.

But her cancer is back. (THREAD)

As we were researching pathology and recommendations, I said something that sparked a big thought: Those in the cervical cancer community dread THE CUFF.

If cancer returns on the vaginal cuff, it can be aggressive and many sisters have passed on after. (THREAD.)

I actually asked my oncology team in 2014 to forgo the cuff. (I was looked at like I was crazy.) I wanted to lessen ANY risk of return as my cancer was aggressive. The cuff seemed favorable. I was told I had to have one. (THREAD)

I hate the CUFF. I get their importance: They are the vagina's gatekeeper. Fine. But they cause havoc when dehiscence happens (or a tear.) And more aggressive cancers seem to return there after chemo.

That got me thinking. (THREAD.)

I've had a working theory that #cancer needs to be starved. Chemo doesn't destroy cancer as much as it mutes (or disrupts) the genetic breadcrumbs of the diseases' growth. This is why I chose surgery (after surgery) for most of my treatment- getting 2nd + 3rd opinions. (THREAD)

What if the very act of the vaginal cuff was adding gasoline to the proverbial fire of the left-over breadcrumbs in the porous tissue of the cells? And what if chemo only muted cancer so it knew where it had been? (THREAD)

I was explaining to someone that small + large cell and #HPV+ cancers seem to favor porous surfaces and they go after throat/tongue/cervix/anal cavity and penis. Those surfaces are ripe for cancer growth in the right circumstances. (Genes, HPV viral load, etc.) (THREAD)

And that got me thinking of skin graphs. I once had a skin graph of the top of my mouth to my gums after an injury. I asked if the tissues were similar, "similar enough" the dentist said. He said when graphing tissues adapt to their new environment. (THREAD)

Duh. If someone favors the land in Arizona, but times are tough, Minnesota does just fine. Cells adapt.

The vaginal cuff was formed over a cancer boneyard. And if chemo only mutes and leaves the breadcrumbs of the disease behind... could that be why it returns worse? (THREAD)

Bottom line: We aren't STARVING the disease. We are giving it new opportunities to grow. For lesion-based pre-cancers or HPV+ cancers, we must CUT OUT the multiple layers of cells that hold the disease. We can't build on a boneyard. (THREAD)

Tell them to figure out why we can't make a fake vaginal cuff with tissue that can block the disease instead of merely joining its environment to help the disease grow. #CancerResearch needs to get better. Precision and genetics are key. (End THREAD.)