Friday, 24 June 2011
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Can Oral Sex Lead to Oral Cancer?
In the 11th grade I was educated on all of the diseases you could catch when becoming sexually active. I believe most of the topics that were discussed were used to scare the students out of unwanted pregnancy and disease but not once had I been told that oral sex could lead to a disease like cancer. So when I came across this article from Cosmo magazine that suggested oral sex led to oral cancer I was caught by surprise:"Over the past few years there has been a serious increase in occurrences of cancers of the throat, tongue, and tonsils, especially among young people. And it looks like oral sex might be to blame..."
"There's definitely a connection between these cancers and oral sex," said Jennifer Wider, MD, Cosmo Radio health expert. She explained that just as HPV can be passed from a guy to a woman during sex, the virus is also transmitted from his penis to her throat during oral sex. "And the more oral sex partners a woman has, the higher her chances are of getting oral cancer," added Wider. "In fact, a 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that going down on six or more guys increases one's risk of tonsil and base of the tongue cancer by almost nine times. (Oh, and we know what you're probably wondering: Yes, guys can get oral cancer from going down on women too.)"This is something I had never been warned about and while I'm not worried about my own chances it's scary to think that yet another thing causes cancer. Everything today seems to lead to cancer including your cell phone, microwave, and even breathing. While there are things that you should stay away from (tanning, smoking, excessive drinking) it's hard not to live your life and to change what you do sexually. To lessen the risk of oral cancer there are a couple of things you can do including lowering the amount of sexual partners you have, asking your partner to put on a condom while you go down, and be aware of early signs such as a lump in your mouth that doesn't go away or swollen lymph nodes.
While rates of oral cancer are up as you increase the amount of oral sex partners you have, this is still a rarity. Also this article seems to be missing the point that oral sex leads to the transmission of HPV which is then linked to cancer. To be safe I would just make sure you are always going to yearly check-ups and if you are concerned ask your doctor!
Have you heard about this before? What is your take on the idea that oral sex leads to oral cancer?
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- From: CarlyPaige
- About Me: Currently I am a college student studying English and Education. A true monogamist, I have only had 2 serious boyfriends but have been single for 2 years. The dating scene in college is complicated to say the least and here I will share with you my experiences, my friends experiences, both past and present as an example of what to do when confronted with awkwardness, confusion and love.
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Comments (44)
That would make a whole lot of dudes extremely sad. "Sorry, Baby. I can't. I'll get cancer."
Pretty much... what doesnt cause cancer these days?
yes... and also lead to oral pregnancy, you know... where you suddenly cough up a kid?
sheesh... walks away shaking his head...
Immoral people, not having any guidance in their life, need studies to tell them how to think, what to think, that sex is good, that they had good sex and now, that blow jobs cause cancer.
Stupid is and stupid does.
I read that and told my bf. He immediately was like "fuck you, Cosmo! You're supposed to get me good sex, not keep me from sex!"
lol you people that don't believe it make me laugh. Maybe you should look up some hpv facts before you joke and chalk it off as nothing. It's actually a fact that it can cause oral cancer IF the person you are giving oral to has hpv... AND it has the be the kind of hpv that causes cancer. It can cause sinus problems too. The fact that people are so unaware of some kinds of std's is scary.
if either partner has already contracted hpv orally, then kissing could also transmit it
so randomly making out with people at parties or wherever might get the virus if not mono.
But it isn't actually oral sex that causes cancer, it's the virus. It just sounds like a sensationalist tactic to get someone to read the article. It isn't new. Most people know that HPV causes cancer. Practice safe sex, don't get an STD, don't get that particular type of cancer.
@TheFifthHero@xanga - Agreed.
@SexyGamerGirl@xanga - Hahahahah!!!
@NeverGiveUp84@xanga - Seconded.
Of course it isn't just a myth. Get educated, people!
@TheFifthHero@xanga - agreed.
HPV viruses are known to cause both oral cancer in males and females, cervical cancer in females and links between colorectal, prostate and bladder cancers are currently being studied. moral of the story? practice safe sex no matter what holes and/or what body parts are involved.
oh and GET YOUR KIDS VACCINATED. i say kids because although this vaccine is currently only approved for females, as soon as it becomes legally sanctioned males should also be vaccinated for it. the medical community is already rallying for this to become possible so it will be something you will be seeing soon.
@NoPantiesOnMe@xanga - Pretty much
Yes, I knew this. Of course it makes sense. Certain strains of HPV cause cancer but apparently not warts.
of course, it is true.. lol,
what makes you think it wouldn't be?
except that you like to have Oral Sex, ha ha ha
that is like saying you dont want to believe in AIDs or HIV
because you like to have sexual intercourse.
@haltija@xanga - Males can take the vaccine now as well. My brother has.
Lols. i know the seriousness of cancer but jeez. My man would be so unhappy to have oral sex with a condom on. Me too. What's the point of oral if there is going to be rubber in the way? I'll just stick to only having sex with one man and regularly checking both of us for anything unusual. No need to freak out when they raise the cancer flag.
Although I am a huge supporter of safe sex, it's not the best answer in this case because condoms are not very effective at preventing HPV. They're certainly better than nothing, but there's still a high chance of catching the disease. Also, many people aren't aware that they should use condoms or dental dams for oral sex, so they don't even take advantage of that level of protection. Therefore, getting vaccinated against HPV is the best defense against the disease. It's not perfect since it only prevents a few strains of the disease, but it's still the best thing we have.
@haltija@xanga - The Gardasil vaccine (to prevent four strains of HPV) is already approved for both males and females in the United States. I think that the Cervarix vaccine (for two strains of HPV) is approved for both sexes in Europe, but I'm not sure.
Tell me, should I start walking around covered in protective bubble wrap?
Or will that give me cancer too?
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - What does this comment even MEAN?
Well, my father wasn't the most loyal guy around when I was a kid. He contracted HPV and is now dying from throat/tonsil cancer.
For those of you getting pissed off that people are saying to not have sex, they're really
saying wrap your stump before you hump. And to be selective who you
have sexual activities with. It's always best to get screened and to
have the screening results from your partner before you start having
sex. If you're adult enough to have sex, you're adult enough to make
sure you're safe.
@TheBeardedBlog@xanga - My comment means that gay rights is actually and assault on all human rights.
I reason my way to that conclusion because gay marriage is an assault on Christian values. And Christian values are where Western Civilization gets its ideas of human rights in the first place.
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - Who was talking about gay rights? This is a post about HPV causing throat/oral cancer. Gay people aren't the only people who have oral sex/kiss/share saliva in other ways.
@TheBeardedBlog@xanga - Who cares? Are you the comment police?