There is a misconception in the gay community, that oral sex if a safer, less risky form of sexual pleasure with little health consequences. But nothing could be further from the truth.
People who engage in unprotected, promiscuous oral sex - run the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and less ominous forms of sexually transmitted diseases, e.g., gonorrhea and syphilis.
Now we can add cancer to that list, says one Columbus, Ohio physician and medical researcher.
Oropharynxl cancers, caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV, has replaced tobacco use as the leading cause of oral cavity, head, and neck cancers in America, said Dr. Maura Gillison.
Dr. Gillison's research, which is funded my Merck, the makers of Gardasil, suggest that 64% of newly diagnosed oral cancers in the U.S. were caused by HPV.
Here's more frightening news.
According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, there has been a spike in young white men being diagnosed with oropharynxl cancers. Doctors are still trying to figure out why this particular group is experiencing an increase in this troubling diagnosis.
Researchers say the more unprotected oral sex you have - and the more partners you engage in oral sex with - the greater your chances of contracting HPV and later being diagnosed with oropharynxl cancer.
NOTE: HPV has been linked to genital warts, penile cancer, and anal cancer.
Sheesh, they're taking the fun out of everything!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously folks, watch what you put in your mouth!
"Sheesh, they're taking the fun out of everything!"
ReplyDeleteI remember watching video from the late 70's, early 80s, where gay men were warned about a new disease called GRID (Gay-related immune deficiency) - which would later be known as AIDS.
In the video, health officials were trying to inform the gay community about the dangers of unprotected, promiscuous sex. They were also contemplating closing the bathhouses.
The crowd was livid! They flat-out accused city officials of lying and using scare-tactics to discourage gay men from engaging in homosexual activities.
A few years after that meeting, gay men started dropping dead like flies.
I remember all that too Timothy BUT if you remember, they also said "saliva" was not a way to contact HIV AFTER "implying that it was and causing a panic.. Now, it's cancer and oral sex, which affects every person who has or does engage in oral sex. I'm not making light of this, just trying to lighten it up, but decades later, after saying saliva wasn't the issue, which gave some people a green light to "engage but not engage", now oral sex is an issue. Thank goodness I'm married and in a committed monogamous relationship.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Making sense of complex medical issues is a daunting task. Especially, in the late 70's and 80's, when AIDS information wasn't readily available. Back then, even the medical professionals were still grappling with the complexity of the "big disease with a little name."
ReplyDeleteHowever, what I find most disturbing, are the people who bury their heads in the sand and become defensive when faced with new medical information.
Here we are, in 2011, and there are people out there who still refuse to believe that HIV/AIDS can be spread through oral sex - even though there is clear data that the virus can be passed on that way.
The sobering reality is, if certain people aren't frightened by the prospect of contracting AIDS, they sure as hell don't care about throat cancer. Which means they don't give a damn about their own lives.
Several years ago, actor Harvey Fierstein, made a very profound comment about gay men and AIDS.
I can't remember Fierstein's words verbatim, but the overall message was... getting gay men to protect themselves from STDs isn't the issue - the issue is teaching them to love themselves enough to WANT to protect themselves.
I know you weren't making light of the situation, but I watched a lot of really great people, die a slow and painful death, because of a lack of information, or their unwillingness to protect themselves.