In recent months
there was a huge campaign in Grenada to raise the awareness of cervical cancer
among women, however the commonest cause of this disease, High-risk human papilloma
virus (HPV), can also cause cancer of the penis. Due to this fact, men need to be aware that
they too are at risk of developing cancer from this sexually transmitted
infection.
Dr. Francis Martin, who holds the position of Senior Medical
Officer and Director of Primary Health Care within the Ministry of Health wants
residents of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique to start taking this
health concern seriously, “HPV is a very serious infection. It is very common. It is the main culprit for sexually
transmitted infections and for cervical cancer.
And not just cervical cancer, but we have seen men with cancer of the
penis as a result of HPV. I personally
have managed men with cancers of the penis as a result of HPV. So again, the implications are far reaching
and the population should take serious note of it and its consequences it can
have on our population.”
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| Photo Source: WikiHow.com |
The American
Cancer Association (ACA) states on their website that high-risk HPV strains numbers 16,
18 and 31 have been linked to cancer of the penis, vagina, vulva, and cervix. Low-risk
HPV strains numbers 6 and 11 cause the growth of warts on the genitalia of both
men and women. Their website went on to
say that, “In most people, the body is able to clear the infection on its own.
In some, however, the infection does not go away and becomes chronic. Chronic
infection, especially with high-risk HPV types, can eventually cause certain
cancers, including penile cancer. Men who are not circumcised are more likely
to get and stay infected with HPV.”
Statistically,
women are diagnosed with reproductive cancers at higher rates than men, and
according to Dr. Amy Baldwin, Associate Professor at St. George’s University in the Department of
Microbiology - School of Medicine, this adds to the misconception that men have
nothing to worry about when it comes to HPV, “A lot of misconceptions going around
about any number of viruses especially things that are sexually transmitted, but
one main [misconception] is that men seem like they really don’t have to worry
about much with sexually transmitted infections. And this goes to the very
realistic fact that women get the crappy end of the deal on a number of things
in life and one of those is the brunt of sexually transmitted infections. And
so you have men having a less number of cancers that will result, less number
of symptoms et cetera, and
so there becomes a misconception that it’s not a problem for them. Or maybe
even they think that they don’t even get infected with the virus and there is a
lot of danger in that because it is a sexually transmitted infection. [Men] in
fact do get infected and then they transmit the infection to others when they
have sex."
If abnormal cells on a man’s penis are found early it can
often be treated and/or removed with minimal damage. However, according to the ACA because some men avoid going to the
doctor for abnormalities on their penises over time things can get worse, “If a cancer is found early, it can often be removed
with little or no damage to the penis. If it is not diagnosed until later, part
of or all of the penis may need to be removed to treat the cancer. It is also
more likely to require other, more invasive treatments, and may even be life
threatening.”
All
sexually active men, especially uncircumcised men, should see their doctor
immediately if they notice any of the following things on their penises,
whether or not pain is involved: any
abnormality, blisters, sores, ulcers, and/or white patches.
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