One of the first purity articles I ever wrote was about the human papillomavirus (HPV) (See For Women: HPV: Three Deadly Letters).
HPV is in the news again, and it isn’t good. A form of head and neck cancer called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been linked to HPV, and cases of this type of cancer have risen dramatically over the past few years. In other words, HPV is being transmitted through oral sex, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of cancer cases.
A recent study found the risk of developing oropharyngeal carcinoma was linked to a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners, four or more lifetime oral sex partners, and, for men, an earlier age at first sexual intercourse.
“Sexual transmission of HPV – primarily through orogenital intercourse – might be the reason for the increase in incidence of HPV related oropharyngeal carcinoma,” wrote Mehanna.
The experts pointed to recent studies which showed a 70 per cent increase in the detection of HPV in biopsies taken to diagnose oropharyngeal carcinoma in Stockholm since the 1970s.
HPV-related cancer was also reported in 60 to 80 per cent of recent biopsy samples in studies in the United States, compared with 40 per cent in the previous decade, they wrote.
Excerpt taken from this article: Oral sex link to head cancer
What lessons can we learn from this?
I always warn students about the dangers of any form of sexual intimacy outside of marriage. I usually talk about the emotional/psychological impact, but now there are even more physical consequences to consider.
As always, we see that God knows best. Save sexual intimacy for marriage–you will be protecting yourself and your future spouse from a potentially deadly virus.
