Ugandans might have made a mockery of President Museveni when he said that “The mouth is supposed to be used for eating.” However, Health expert and General practitioner Dr. Vincent Karuhanga has revealed that throat cancer is on high in Uganda because have an increased number of sexual partners indulging in oral sex.
“People think oral sex is safe. Throat cancer levels are high now and it’s partly because of oral sex,” said Dr. Vincent Karuhanga speaking to the media.
According to Karuhanga, men who are doing oral sex with multiple women are at a greater risk of developing head and neck cancer, especially if they smoke. He says Human papillomavirus (HPV), a viral infection that is passed between people through skin-to-skin contact, infects moist membranes.
Oral sex apparently also leads to high chances of contracting cervical cancer for women, and this is why there is now a high incidence of cervical cancer in women, and if the mouth gets contact, it increases risk of mouth and throat cancers.
According to the Kampala Data Registry of 2017, the incidence of cancer for every 100,000 is 320 newly-diagnosed cases. The report says, for every 100 new cases diagnosed, 80 of the patients die. We have an 80% mortality rate and 20% survival rate.
The 2018 Uganda Cancer Institute revealed that between 4500-6000 new Cancer cases are reported every year and these are added to the already existing high number of patients at the Institute.