Whereas some men are of the view that oral sex especially those who lick the private parts of their partners are not at risk of throat cancer, a Gynaecologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital has warned men against the practice.
According to Dr Hawa Malechi, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), that causes the much-talked about cervical cancer can also cause cancer of the penis known medically as penile cancer as well as throat cancer.
She therefore advised that men must take preventive measures just as seriously as women are advised to take against cervical cancer.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews at the National Cervical Cancer forum organised last Friday under the auspices of the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia.she stressed that given that the virus is a sexually transmitted virus, it can cause cancer in other areas of the body apart of the cervix even though it most frequently causes cancer in the cervix. Hence the emphasis on cervical cancer education and prevention.
“The virus that is complicated in this cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted virus…We’ve also said that the virus does not affect only the cervix. It affects the vagina; it affects the pens, the scrotal skin; it affects the vulva, that’s the outside of the vagina; and it can cause cancer in all these areas. The frequent place is the cervical cancer. And that is where it affects us (women). When a man gets HPV, he can equally develop penile cancer.
So that is why when we talk about the primary prevention, which is the immunization, we are not limiting it to only young girls. We say vaccinate both boys and girls to reduce the load of the HPV virus in the community. And the virus can even cause cancer of the throat [through oral sex]. So it is not limited to women,” Dr Malechi said.
Source: Mynewsgh.com
