Campaigning With Cancer

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My election campaigns always seem to present unexpected challenges. Still, I have overcome them, and I have gone on to win elections and continue my effort to protect Charlestown’s spectacular natural resources.

In my first election, the campaign manager lost my photos, leaving all publications with a blank space next to my name. I won the election anyway. I’m right-handed, and a broken right wrist in the 2018 campaign meant I had to create mailers and online communications with my clumsy left hand. That made me slow, but I got the work done. This year I have a greater challenge, but I hope to meet it with the same success.

I declared my candidacy for Charlestown Town Council in June, and a biopsy on July 15 found a small tumor, a squamous cell carcinoma, in my throat. I had, and have, no symptoms except for a swollen lymph node.

The tumor is HPV-positive, which means its cause is exposure to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This is both bad and good luck.

More than 90% of the adult population has been exposed to HPV. However, most strains of HPV do not cause cancer, and even those exposed to the high-risk strains clear the infection and never develop cancer. Likely, my exposure to HPV was many decades ago. I was never aware of any infection in my throat, but long after the virus was gone, some cells at the base of my tongue were left with altered DNA. Those cells, probably, from time to time developed into cancer cells that were cleared by my immune system; but this year my luck ran out, and that defense failed.

My good luck is that HPV-positive tumors are very responsive to treatment and patients have a high likelihood of long-term survival. My other good luck is to have health insurance that covers my expenses.

The treatment is, unfortunately, brutal. Starting in mid-August I’ll undergo daily radiation to my throat and neck and weekly chemotherapy. The effects of the radiation are cumulative, so halfway through and for a couple of weeks after the treatment ends, the pain in my throat will be intense, and it will be difficult to eat, drink, or swallow. But then it should start to get better. I’ll miss out on parts of the election campaign, but I will recover from the treatment and be able to serve when the new term begins in December.

My bad luck may also be an opportunity to guide others.

One lesson is to listen to your body and act on its message. The day I noticed the swollen lymph node, I contacted my primary care physician. She gave me a week of antibiotics to rule out an infection and then sent me for a CAT scan when the antibiotics had no effect. The CAT scan, like the whole-body PET/CT scan that followed, found nothing. A biopsy of the lymph node did however prove malignant, and a surgical hunt for the primary tumor did eventually find the tiny thing hidden at the back of my throat.

My other advice is to get the HPV vaccination if you are still young. HPV causes not just throat cancer, but virtually all cervical cancers; anal cancer, which is what killed the actress Farrah Fawcett; and many other cancers. Untreated, any of these will spread to other areas of your body and will eventually be fatal.

I know some parents object to their children receiving the HPV vaccine. Until there is widespread immunity from vaccination, the unvaccinated will still likely come into contact with the HPV virus. As I’ve learned, luck doesn’t always work in your favor, so why take the risk?

I will get through this and be okay. My voice may be quieter for a short time, but it won’t be silenced, and I will continue doing my best to protect the beautiful, natural character of our community.

Thank you to everyone who has wished me good luck and those who have offered help. I appreciate all your good wishes. What you can do to help me though is to work on behalf of all the CCA candidates in the upcoming election. My short illness will create a space that can easily be filled by those who volunteer, so please do volunteer by emailing mail@charlestowncitizens.org and asking how you might help.

Photo of Ruth Platner
Ruth Platner

 

You can learn more about the author, Ruth Platner, a candidate for Charlestown Town Council, on her profile page.