Living with cancer
posted by molloy
07 June 2014

Sex after Cervical Cancer

Last reply: 16 June 2014 18:47

I would like to have views on a very pointed question, without value judgement please. I am male and have just had unprotected sex for the first time with a woman who has not been my normal sexual partner. It was protected sex, but the condom broke, unnoticed, but Im guessing about five minutes before we finished. This woman then advised me that she had had cervical cancer some years ago and described a procedure whereby it was burnt off. She also advised that she had done a screening last year which showed that she does not still have the HPV virus. My concern is for my normal girlfriend who expects to have unprotected sex with me. Am I putting her at risk if I have unprotected sex with her. I am circumcised.

What I have read seems unclear. I read that the PAP smear does not detect different HPV types. I read that curing cervical cancer does not cure HPV. I read that HPV causes almost all cervical cancers. I read that as a male I cant get tested for HPV. I read that even condoms don't fully protect against HPV. It kinda reads as if once you know you have cervical cancer causing HPV, you shouldn't have sex any more ? Informed thoughts please.

2 comments

Comments

commented by Irish Cancer Society
16 June 2014

16 June 2014 10:00

Dear Molloy,
I can understand your concern at the moment. There is much about HPV and how it behaves and its routes of transmission that we don’t fully know yet. HPV has many different strains and many of us (almost 80%) will have come in contact with it and not even be aware that we have been exposed to it or had it. It has no symptoms and can be spread through sexual contact. For the majority of people the virus doesn't do any harm because your immune system gets rid of the infection. But in some cases, the infection persists and can lead to health problems. I am linking you to our own information on HPV which may be helpful to you.

http://www.cancer.ie/sites/default/file ... .10.10.pdf

Kind regards,
Cancer Information Nurse

commented by molloy
16 June 2014

16 June 2014 18:47

Many thanks. What is hard to deal with is the randomness of this. To think that most people just deal with the virus and some don't. The thought of doing harm is upsetting; the lack of a sensible course of action as a male is disarming. But I appreciate your response and the information

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