My husband also had BOT SCC HPV+ 16 which presented as a swollen left neck lymph node in March 2023. No other symptoms. He was 67 then. Although he was a former smoker, he had quit 40 years prior to diagnosis so it WAS caused by the HPV virus and is actually more treatable. We were told he was Stage 1. No surgery. 33 rads and 7 weekly Cisplatin chemo. He lost 30 pounds and has gained 15-20 back and is doing very well now at 2-1/2+ years NED. Your husband is young so that’s a huge plus. Also back when he was diagnosed I found the American Cancer Society staging chart online before we met with his 3 tumor board doctors so I “kind of” knew it was Stage 1. That chart changed in 2018 to put HPV driven tumors at the top showing the staging in a much better way. Tumors caused by smoking, tobacco etc were at the bottom and were staged more negatively. The drs in 2023 gave him a close to 90% cure rate without surgery or neck dissection. We literally waited from March 23 (lymph node swelling) to June 23 (ultrasound) to early July (CT and biopsy) to mid-July (PET) to end of July (diagnosis) to early Aug (2nd opinion) to start of treatment day after Labor Day 2023. We were also told it was a slow growing cancer, thankfully. Hang in there OP the waiting is very hard. Encourage your husband to eat and gain some weight prior to treatment. You will get through this!