Man diagnosed with throat cancer caused by oral sex

'My advice would be don't have oral sex.'

Dad-of-two Frank Lane was shocked to discover a firm, egg-sized swelling on the right side of his neck and — believing it was swollen glands from hitting it hard at the gym —decided to monitor it.

Just two weeks later, the 60-year-old went to his GP to get it checked out, and was referred for a biopsy.

Just 10 days after the biopsy, HGV driver Frank was told the devastating news he had throat cancer, caused by HPV, contracted through oral sex.

The 60-year-old says his doctors told him he'd picked the virus up 40 years earlier.

It was around the time he joined the army aged 20.

Frank has since joked that the diagnosis has ensured he’ll never engage in oral sex ever again, even if he received an offer from Kylie Minogue. 

Frank said: “[When the doctor told me] you've got throat cancer from oral sex it was a surprise.

"Some of the guys I've told at work laughed, not because I had cancer but because of how it came about.

"They said I was talking a load of rubbish, I told them to Google it and I saw the colour drain from their faces."

There is scientific evidence to suggest that Oral sex causes cancer through the transmission of the human papillomavirus (HPV) which infect the mouth and throat.

This disrupts DNA, which can in turn lead to uncontrolled cell growth and the development of cancerous tumours.

"The consultant said because of the shape of the virus inside my biopsy they ascertain it's from about 40 years ago.

"I was sexually active around the age of 20. I was having fun, but I wasn't messing about with loads of different girls.

"When I got told, I was thinking 'f*ck that, I'm never doing it again.

"To be honest it could be Kylie Minogue or Demi Moore and if they were like 'hey Frank come on' I'd be like 'nah, you're alright'."

After two rounds of chemotherapy failed to remove the tumour, Frank was put forward for six-weeks of ‘gruelling’ radiotherapy that succeeded in blasting the cancer.

He’s now encouraging people to get anything unusual checked out, joking that his advice for not ending up in the same boat is to "not have oral sex."

"I was very tired but I just thought it was down to work and not getting enough sleep. I was also waking up to go to the toilet three or four times a night, but I put that down to getting older.

"My partner said to give it a fortnight as it might be my glands - [caused by] the stress of going to the gym.

"I remember thinking 'what the hell are you talking about throat cancer?

"I was in the army for 12 years and that [radiotherapy] was the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life.”

"My advice would be don't have oral sex. [Laughing]

"For anyone who can't follow that, my advice would be if you have any unusual symptoms don't ignore them, get it checked out."