Either smoking or drinking triples your chance of throat cancer.
Ouch. Thats bad enough for me. You?
Funny, now that Gardasil is in the news, with America discussing whether to innoculate all the girls, it suddenly seems that HPV (Human Papillo Virus) has so much more to answer for.
There is now serious discussion about administering the vaccination to males also, although this development has nothing at all to do with recognition of appalling sexism and double standards.
The reason?
It seems that performing oral sex on five partners or more in a lifetime gives you a 250% increased risk of throat cancer.
Analysis also revealed that people who had prior infection with HPV were 32 times as likely to have throat cancer as those with no evidence of ever having the virus, and those who tested positive for a particularly aggressive strain of the virus, called HPV-16, were 58 times more likely to have throat cancer.
Oh lovely. I think someone should tell the UK youth, quick.
13 comments:
It seems that performing oral sex on five partners or more in a lifetime gives you a 250% increased risk of throat cancer.
Oops!
What a dramatic discovery. It seems like this vaccination may have a remarkable impact on cancer. Let's hope.
"Now, Johhny, stop the fussing. It'll just hurt for a minute, and it will ensure you a future full of blowjobs."
How sweet!
I don't understand the numbers, to be honest. I did a statistics course for my degree, but all I can remember is the degree in which it is possible to make something sound much worse (or better) than it really is. For example, if there is a 0.01 chance of getting throat cancer, then tripling it would mean you now have a 0.03 chance, which is not something to worry about THAT much.
I see in the original article that "Tonsil and throat cancers affect about two in every 100,000 adults in the US." Perhaps that puts things into perspective a bit... If the oral sex thing increases your risk of throat cancer by 250%, doesn't that mean it now becomes 5 in 100,000? Or have I got that wrong? (It would make terrible headlines, though - 250% sounds MUCH more dramatic!)
Ally - cough cough, nudge nudge, wink wink!
Jane - agreed! I was being too blase to look at it that way.
zbt - oh good grief no! Kids already seem to think that oral and anal are 'safe' - these days I guess that promiscuous kids would be lucky to live long enough to develop throat cancer, what with chlamydia and HIV and all.
Badaunt - nor me. I am stripped of all creativity and much of my oomph these days so gratefully stole this from the news without being too picky. I would guess it means that five out of six people who get throat cancer also happened, in the past, to do the whole blow job / muff diving thing on five or more. Or something. Love your recent blog posts.
:-)
I'm so suspicious of any miracle vaccination, wonder drug, hormone replacement that comes out today. Beginning to think they're constructed to make us sicker ten years down the way so we'll need more pills.
I realize so many terrible childhood diseases have been eradicated through vaccinations, but I don't trust our pharmaceutical leaders any longer.
Perhaps my childhood vaccines had a twenty five year delayed side effect of paranoia.
Where's the long term data?
Are they absolutely sure this is worth pushing?
We parents are constantly put into the position of, "Don't take chances with your children!"
I'm not comfortable with that any more.
One thing for sure. I will do more research before agreeing to either of my children getting this vaccine.
As for the blow job statistics, now how did they compile that data??
Maybe we can reassure ourselves that it's very more likely ten partners. I know I'd fudge the numbers. It's not like any doctor would ask that question, then say, "Fantastic! Oral sex with multiple partners is linked with boosting one's immune system and lowering cholesterol."
Is it ok to eat Cornflakes?
Oh crap now males will have a VALID reason for not...reciprocating! Wait, that works both ways, yeah...doo dee doo diddy dumb...I'll be going now.
(singing) "...everything gives you cancer. There's no cure, there's no answer..."
(Qt Joe Jackson)
I think I'll go an sit in a sterile box for my entire life ;-)
Oh I have just come back and read Writermom's comment. ROFL!
Dear WM, perhaps doctors would never sya that in a professional capacity, but I've heard several 'men' try pulling that one. And the 'good for your skin' line, and 'full of protein' and; ok; too much info.
:-)
Milt - sorry I don't get the joke! all you've done now is give me a mental image of crusty underpants full of cornflakes...ooo...gag reflex....gotta run......
Oh dear, there goes that idea of "fun". Well, until next week when the marketers make a new "break through discovery" based on number crunched statistics...
:)
I think I'll just get my tonsils out.
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