A doctor has revealed the number of oral sex partners which increases a person’s risk of developing throat cancer.
Father-of-two Frank Lane had been feeling run down when he noticed an egg-sized swelling on his neck. Believing he’d been overdoing it at the gym, the HGV driver decided to monitor it, before making an appointment with his GP two weeks later.
It was here that a mass was discovered on the 60-year-old’s tonsils, which was confirmed to be throat cancer after a biopsy.
Doctors then informed Lane that his cancer was likely connected contracting human papillomavirus (HPV) 40 years ago from oral sex.
“When they said I had throat cancer I thought he was talking a load of rubbish,” Lane, who has since been given the all-clear, revealed.
A rising number of throat cancer cases have been linked to HPV, transmitted through oral sex (Getty Stock Images)
“Some of the guys I’ve told at work laughed, not because I had cancer but because of how it came about,” he added.
“They said I was talking a load of rubbish, I told them to Google it and I saw the colour drain from their faces.”
So how does oral sex impact your likelihood of getting throat cancer?
The link between oral sex and throat cancer
Research conducted over the past couple of years has suggested there may be a link between oral sex and oropharyngeal cancer.
Oropharyngeal cancer develops in the middle section of person’s throat, which includes the tonsils. This cancer can either be HPV-negative or positive.
HPV is a type of skin virus which can be passed through sexual transmission, it can affect the mouth, throat of genital area.
When it comes to developing HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, one doctor explained that the number of sexual partners a person has can impact their likelihood of developing the disease.
One person to be impacted by this was dad-of-two Frank Lane, who revealed his cancer was linked to catching HPV 40 years ago (Getty Stock Images)
“Those with six or more lifetime oral-sex partners are 8.5 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those who do not practice oral sex,” Dr Hisham Mehanna previously explained to The Conversation, citing a study from 2007.
Which means it’s less of a case of how often you do it and more about how many people you do it with.
The NHS also notes that people don’t have to engage in penetrative sex in order to catch the virus, with vaginal, anal or oral sex as well as skin-to-skin contact of the genital area and sharing sex toys being common ways the virus is passed.
Most people can live without symptoms, however in some cases it can lead to cancer.
Recalling his time in the army 40 years ago, Lane added: “I was sexually active around the age of 20. I was having fun, but I wasn’t messing about with loads of different girls.
“When I got told, I was thinking ‘f**k that, I’m never doing it again’,” joking that even if Kylie Minogue or Demi Moore knocked on his door he’d politely decline.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
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