Man, 62, horrified to discover ‘sore throat’ was cancer linked to oral sex – doctors said disease had been harbouring in his body for decades

A father-of-two was horrified when doctors told him his “sore throat” was caused by a form of cancer linked to oral sex.

Jeff Bradford, 62, of Moray, Scotland, was working part-time as a personal trainer and renovating a gym when he first developed the ticklish sensation in March 2016.

He said: ‘I wore a mask but after a few days my throat was sore.

‘I thought it was just an inconvenience caused by the dust, but I couldn’t get rid of it.’

When the discomfort persisted for two weeks and wasn’t relieved by over-the-counter medications, she went back to her doctor, who told her it was ‘classic tonsillitis.’

Antibiotics failed to improve his symptoms and he returned to the GP where he was prescribed stronger antibiotics and another doctor took a throat swab and photographs.

He was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary a short time later.

During the consultation, experts warned that the appearance of the throat lesion ‘looked very bad’ and arranged for an urgent biopsy.

Mr Bradford, a father of two from Moray, Scotland, is photographed with his wife Heidi, 58.

Mr Bradford said: ‘I wasn’t nervous at all. I never thought it could be cancer. We even planned to go out for lunch after the appointment.

‘I was shocked when they said they thought it might be cancer, but things progressed very quickly after that.’

During surgery, doctors discovered that the tumor had grown significantly and reached the size of a thumb. It was removed with an operation that lasted 4 hours.

Mr Bradford was then told he had stage three oropharyngeal cancer due to HPV16, a common virus that is usually harmless and is usually cleared by the immune system, but in some cases can lie dormant for years before triggering cancer.

‘I was completely shocked when they said it was linked to HPV and could be linked to oral sex,’ she said.

‘They said it could have been in my body for decades.

‘Sometimes it goes dormant and something like a minor infection can allow it to set in.

‘My wife and I didn’t say a word as we drove the 80 miles back home,’ he said.

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is an extremely common virus that spreads through skin-to-skin contact.

During surgery in 2016, doctors discovered that the tumor had already grown significantly and reached the size of a thumb. Jeff was photographed with his wife in the hospital

Mouth ulcers that do not heal, a hoarse voice, and unexplained swelling in the mouth are warning signs of oral cancer.

Although most of the time it is harmless, it can lead to serious illness and is known to cause a range of cancers, including those affecting the head and neck, the anus and penis, and cervical cancer in women.

Head and neck cancer cases have been increasing in recent years.

Mouth ulcers that do not heal, a hoarse voice, and unexplained swelling in the mouth are warning signs of oral cancer.

Head and neck cancer is an umbrella term that covers cancers of the throat, mouth, voice box, nose, sinuses and salivary glands.

Research has linked a significant portion of oropharyngeal cancers, which affect the back of the throat, tonsils, and base of the tongue, to HPV infection.

Although the virus is usually harmless, it spreads through close contact, including sexual activity, and in rare cases can lead to cancer years or even decades later.

Experts say warning signs may include a persistent sore throat, mouth ulcers that won’t heal, hoarseness or unexplained swelling in the neck.

After undergoing chemotherapy and 35 sessions of radiotherapy that same year, Mr Bradford was severely weakened and recuperated at home for months.

‘Radiotherapy was brutal,’ he said. ‘It caused serious burns. I felt like my neck was on fire. I was bedridden for months afterwards.’

He eventually completed treatment and was later declared cancer-free.

Radiotherapy caused severe burns. ‘I felt like my neck was on fire,’ Jeff said

Now, 10 years later, she urges others not to ignore persistent symptoms.

‘If something doesn’t improve after two weeks, get it checked and if you’re not happy, keep pushing,’ he said.

‘I had no idea that something like this could come from a virus linked to something so common in everyday life.

‘It’s just a normal life; People don’t think about it.’

Last week, a new study suggested that vaccinating boys against HPV, as well as girls, might work. reduce the risk of developing cancer almost half.

Researchers found that men given the latest version of the vaccine were significantly less likely to develop a range of cancers linked to the virus, including cancers of the head, neck and penis.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, analyzed the health records of more than three million young men.

Men who received the version of the HPV vaccine that protects against nine strains of the virus had a 46 percent lower risk of developing HPV-related cancers overall.

The protective effect was seen in both young adolescents and young adults.

In real terms, the risk dropped from 12.5 cases per 100,000 in unvaccinated men to 7.8 cases per 100,000 in vaccinated men.