Frank Lane, a 60-year-old father from Hampshire, was stunned when doctors told him his throat cancer was caused by HPV, a virus often spread through oral sex. “When they said I had throat cancer, I thought, ‘what the hell are you talking about?’” he said.
Frank first noticed a lump on his neck while shaving. At first, he thought it was a swollen gland from the gym. But after two weeks, he went to the doctor. A biopsy confirmed throat cancer, and doctors linked it to HPV, which he likely caught over 40 years ago while serving in the army.
“My friends laughed when I told them, but I said ‘Google it,’ and their faces changed,” Frank recalled. He went through chemotherapy and six weeks of painful radiotherapy but is now cancer-free and has regular checkups.
His advice: “If you have any unusual symptoms, don’t ignore them—get it checked out.” And with a smile, he added, “Or maybe just avoid oral sex altogether.”
