Stewart Lyman, Ph.D.

Cancer Researcher and Biotechnology Consultant and Survivor of HPV-attributed Tonsil Cancer; Seattle, WA



You don’t have to be an oncologist to know that fighting cancer is tough. For Stewart, fighting an opponent that he can never really be sure is defeated posed challenges, both physical and mental, for him when he was diagnosed with HPV-attributed tonsil cancer in 2016.

He has become an HNCA Ambassador for one simple reason. “I don’t want anyone else go through what I did. I was lucky that my cancer was caught fairly early, and after treatment my prognosis going forward is good,” explained Stewart. “My doctors, though, have offered no guarantees.”

He has been fighting against cancer for most of his adult life. Not personally, but professionally. After earning a Ph.D. in cancer research, Stewart spent a large part of his career working in the lab, trying to develop innovative new cancer drugs.

“Take it from me: cancer prevention is always preferable to cancer treatment. As I’ve transitioned from cancer researcher to cancer patient to cancer survivor, I vow to make every effort to keep others from joining my club,” explained Stewart.

He strongly encourages parents to talk to their pediatricians and get both their boys and girls vaccinated against HPV. It could potentially save lives. He often blogs on his website about issues in healthcare and biomedicine, which you can find here.

Read Stewart’s ambassador blog post, The HPV Vaccine: Preventing Cancer Beats Curing It and visit his HPV Cancer Resources website.

To request Stewart’s for your local event, please contact us at info@headandneck.org or complete the online form.