Sam Riegel Reveals HPV-Related Throat Cancer Diagnosis After Losing His Ability to Taste Sweet Foods
Voice actor Sam Riegel has described how losing his ability to taste sweet foods led to his tonsil cancer diagnosis.
The actor, known for Critical Role and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, discussed his experience on the Wellness Check with Ashly Burch podcast. In March 2024, he noticed his morning oatmeal tasted bitter despite being topped with honey and berries. He initially wondered whether he had COVID-19, but medical checks revealed oropharyngeal cancer affecting his tonsils. He later learned it was associated with human papillomavirus (HPV).
As a voice actor, Riegel feared treatment could affect his ability to speak and work. Surgery and radiotherapy left him with dry mouth, throat tightness and changes to his voice. Physical therapy and vocal exercises helped him recover. He said his taste and saliva gradually returned about a year after radiation, and he has since described himself as recovered.
Riegel's Diagnosis Followed an Unusual Change in Taste
HPV is a common group of viruses transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sexual activity. Certain types can infect the mouth and throat.
Most HPV infections become undetectable within one to two years. However, persistent infection with a high-risk HPV type can cause cellular changes that may eventually develop into cancer, sometimes years or decades after the initial infection.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that HPV is thought to cause approximately 60% to 70% of oropharyngeal cancers in the United States.
These cancers affect the back of the throat, including the tonsils and base of the tongue. An HPV-related cancer diagnosis cannot reveal when or from whom the infection was acquired; the virus may remain unnoticed for years.
HPV Can Cause Cancers in the Back of the Throat
Losing his sense of sweet taste was an early warning sign in Riegel's case, but it is not a typical or reliable indicator of throat cancer.
The CDC lists persistent sore throat, earache, hoarseness, swollen lymph nodes, pain when swallowing and unexplained weight loss among possible symptoms. Some people have no noticeable symptoms.
Taste changes can have many causes, including infections and medication side effects. Anyone with persistent or unexplained symptoms should seek medical advice rather than assume they have cancer. There is no routine screening test recommended for the general population to detect HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.
Taste Changes Are Not a Typical Cancer Symptom
HPV vaccination protects against the virus types responsible for most HPV-related cancers. The CDC recommends routine vaccination at 11 or 12, although it can begin at age nine. Catch-up vaccination is recommended through age 26 for those not fully vaccinated.
Some adults aged 27 to 45 may discuss vaccination with a healthcare professional, although the benefit is generally lower because more people in this age group have already encountered HPV.
Vaccination prevents new infections; it does not treat existing HPV or cancer. Condoms and dental dams can reduce transmission during sexual activity, but cannot provide complete protection because HPV can infect skin not covered by a barrier.
Riegel's experience highlights that HPV-related cancers are not limited to cervical cancer. The virus can also cause cancers of the tonsils and back of the throat, making vaccination relevant to people of all sexes.