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About 5 percent of cancers worldwide are caused by HPV, and some turn up in some surprising places. A University of Washington study found that some men carry HPV 26 under their fingernails, which can lead to a form of cancer called digital squamous cell carcinoma. Proper hand-washing can help prevent this from happening, said Dr. Diane Harper, leading HPV researcher at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.
The latest data suggest that 64% of oropharynx cancers – growing in the middle part of the throat – in the United States are caused by HPV, which is more than tobacco causes, said Maura Gillison of Ohio State University. And as the number of partners on whom you have performed oral sex goes up, the risk of oropharnyx cancer goes up.
About 37,000 people per year receive a diagnosis of oral cancer, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation.
Just about everyone has had at least one of the 130 strains of HPV; not all of them are cancer-causing. Certain types cause warts on the hands and feet that are benign.
Two well-established mechanisms of prevention in terms of sexually transmitted HPV are condom usage and circumcision, although neither completely eliminates the risk, Harper said.
As for getting HPV from kissing, that’s not clear, and there isn’t enough data to say anything about it yet, Harper said.
It’s very hard to get teens to listen to abstinence messages about oral sex, or to get them to use any kind of barrier method for these behaviors, Halpern-Felsher said. And since any risk factor under 50% sounds low to a very young person, throwing these precise statistics at them most likely won’t make a difference.
But parents should have honest conversations with their teenagers about oral sex, Halpern-Felsher said. Tell them that the consequences of HPV may not happen right away, and while the risks may not be huge, they are significant. Potential long-term outcomes of cancer are quite concerning.
Superman, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman step aside! Americans have their own super hero dreams! The Marist Poll asked which super power U.S. residents would like to have, and they answered. More than a quarter — 28% — report they would like to have the ability to read people’s minds, and the same proportion — 28% — say they would like to be able to time travel. The ability to fly is the preference of 16% while 11% say they wish they could teleport. 10% pick invisibility, and 8% are unsure.
Mind reading tops the list of those in Gen X — 36% — and Americans in the Silent-Greatest generation — 28%. The number one pick of Baby Boomers — 33% — is time travel. Time travel and reading minds are closely matched among Millennials, receiving 26% and 25%, respectively.
35% of men wish they could travel through time while 30% of women would like to read people’s minds.
Mind reading? Having the power to read minds is like asking to have the power to be the most depressed person on earth. The power to read minds would be great for about, I don’t know, 8 seconds. At the 9 second mark you’d realize that:
1) No one actually likes you all that much
2) About 2 people in your life have contemplated killing you
3) 1 of those two people have actually tried and failed and plan to try again at some point
This is one of those weird powers like flying or time travel that people don’t really take into consideration the very obvious consequences. For instance, being able to fly doesn’t make you indestructible so there will eventually be some sort of complication that will cause you to fall to your death. And time traveling always has it’s issues.
My most wanted super power? I wanna be really really good at math. This power opens up doors. Numerous paths are open to you and there really are no limits. You want the power to fly for what? To skip out on buying Metrocards and airfare? Its a useless power and the novelty will wear off once you realize that Japan isn’t all that great.
*Buys 20 kittens and 20 cameras*
