A recent study just confirmed a link between oral sex and mouth cancer. The British Medical Journal reports that an increase in the sexually-transmitted disease HPV (human papillomavirus) correlates with the prevalence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
Researchers from the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education at England's University Hospital Coventry report that this particular form of cancer infects the back of the mouth and the entrance to the throat. The number of cases of OSCC has increased by 50 percent in the past 20 years and HPV, transmitted through oral sex, may be the reason.
"Sexual transmission of HPV -- primarily through orogenital intercourse -- might be the reason for the increase in incidence of HPV related oropharyngeal carcinoma," says study leader Hisham Mehanna. "The emergence of new data such as this may increase motivation amongst national vaccination authorities worldwide to re-double efforts to vaccinate children before they become sexually active."
I could bore you with more statistics and meaningless rhetoric, but right now I’d rather discuss the implications of these findings on the average woman. Looking at this study, I can’t help but notice the inter-connectedness of human sexuality. Cancer is arguably the greatest threat to human health in this day and time. This means that the link between cancer and oral sex holds great potential.
So far, the only STD to be correlated with death is HIV/AIDS, and for most people that form of suffering represents a more generalized relationship between sexual contact and life-threatening illness. The association of oral sex with cancer, however, takes the meaning of the word protection to a whole new level. It hints at the fact that from now on, not only do we need to be concerned about the ramifications of intercourse, we also need to watch ourselves while being intimate in general.
One can’t help but envision a whole universe of future health risks; hand jobs may cause a fatal skin condition or cunnilingus may lead to vaginal atrophy. The mere possibility of fatal diseases induced by bedroom activities is enough to make us stop and wonder.
I guess that the question I'm really wrestling with right now is this: How long will it take before French kissing causes facial paralysis and nipple clamps cause breast cancer? Because of this study, the threat of disease has been cast wide open and is increasingly more severe. The consequences of sexual activity now reach beyond emotional impact and subsequently have the ability to alter the course of human existence. Are we ready to deal with that?