Anal Sex and Bowel Cancer

[DrDr]

Some guy emailed me that ass fucking causes colon cancer if it is with multiple partners. I am not really well studied on it. I just know I like it.

Hi

I only joined here because I saw the above and thought maybe some folk might benefit from a heads-up here. I saw a few somewhat odd misconceptions about bowel cancer elsewhere on the site, which further prompted me.

So here's the bowel cancer 101 and I suspect you ought to read it.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in both the US and Western Europe after lung cancer. In the UK it kills 16,000 people every year.

Bowel cancer is sometimes called colo-rectal or colon cancer. Anal cancer is also bowel cancer, of which more later. I will refer to all these as "bowel cancer" for the sake of simplicity. (They all kill you just as dead.)

Assuming NO hereditary or other elevated risk, diet and lifestyle are significant risk factors for this disease or group of diseases. A healthy balanced diet with adequate roughage, not smoking, taking regular exercise, keeping your weight down and generally being sensible are all helpful in avoiding the disease. However statements such as "eating red meat gives you colon cancer" are just too simplistic. Red meat is fine as part of a balanced diet.

The risk of bowel cancer increases with age but it IS NOT ONLY a disease of the elderly. Bowel cancer typically develops on lesions called adenomatous polyps which most people develop. Less than 1% of such polyps become malignant. However they do often bleed slightly, but not enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Unfotunately bowel cancer typically shows few symptoms until it has advanced. Patients frequently ignore early symptoms also. This is bad because the disease is usually eminently treatable if diagnosed early. Some figures suggest a 90% survival rate from cancer detected and treated early reducing to 8% if found late, though clearly these stats need to be better defined. But they are a useful guide to the importance of early detection.

To minimise risk you should keep an eye out for symptoms such as persistent stomach pain or cramps, chronic fatigue or anaemia or change in bowel habits, for example if your frequency changes, or the consistency of your stool changes fro more than a week or so. You do all check the paper when you wipe, I hope, and if you don't, start NOW. Stop being squeamish, it might save your life. (Sudden profuse bleeding with bright red (oxygenated) blood is usually caused by haemorrhoids but GET IT CHECKED.) If you have any concerns see a doctor AT ONCE.

In the non-elevated risk population the most effective defence against bowel cancer is routine screening. This is most often done with a test called a "faecal occult blood test" or FOBT. These involve taking a sample of stool (shit) and testing for the presence of occult-- that is INVISIBLE-- blood. This blood comes from the polyps I mentioned above.

The next line of defence is typically an internal visual examination by colonoscopy or similar procedure. This is invasive but low-risk. Polyps and some early cancers can be removed at this stage.

Right, so where does this leave you? Well, if you have ANY history of cancer and particularly bowel cancer yourself or in your family, irritable bowel syndrome, irregularity in bowel habits, bleeding into the toilet, chronic fatigue or anaemia you MUST tell your doctor and get him or her to check you out and propose a plan to observe you. Be firm and specific-- many doctors don't realise that bowel cancer can strike young but I certainly have known of cases in the patient's TEENS.

If you have no elevated risk, you should begin routine FOBT testing every year at the age of 40. Annual FOBT screening can result in up to 1/3 reduction in mortality and so is well worth the effort and low cost. However it does not catch all cancers, so if it is available you should consider routine internal visual examination every three to five years as well.

NOW, the bit you've been waiting for--ANAL SEX. Sorry to keep you waiting. Anal sex DOES cause an elevated risk of contracting anal cancer, which is where the cancer is very low in the digestive tract. I am not aware of any specific research to determine why it does; it may be due to abrasion and trauma or possibly to irritable reaction to semen. Whatever, practising anal sex PUTS YOU INTO AN ELEVATED RISK GROUP FOR BOWEL CANCER AND YOU SHOULD TELL YOUR DOCTOR!
Sorry to shout but it's important.

I can't see any reason why multiple partners would cause a further risk increase AS LONG AS YOU USE A CONDOM, but it is possible that frequency is a factor.

The situation is somewhat complicated because a little bleeding from the rectum is quite common after anal sex. This may or may not be noticeable. The whole of the digestive tract from mouth to anus is lined with rather delicate epithelium which can be ruptured quite easily. Think how soft the inside of your mouth is. However this lining does heal very rapidly in healthy individuals. So it is quite normal for anal sex, particularly the first few times, or if the penetrating member is big or the sex is violent, for the lining to be slightly ruptured. These are sometimes called "micro-fissures" though they can be quite large. HOWEVER the bleeding from any such lesions should cease after a few days and certainly if it persists after a week SEE A DOCTOR. Anal sex can cause other problems which may result in bleeding, so don't panic, just GET CHECKED.

Nevertheless it would be sensible for anyone receiving anal sex to consider themselves to be in a high risk group. They should begin annual FOBT screening immediately as a precaution. You will have to abstain from anal sex for at least a week before taking the test samples to avoid the risk of contamination from other bleeding.

In some areas FOBT testing is available free. In the US check your doctor. The tests are very cheap in any case. In the UK the National Independent Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NIBCSP) provides a high-quality, low-cost screening service with full lab backup. Although this service is principally aimed at the UK and Ireland they will send kits anywhere in the world. The company providing this is at http://www.pocl.co.uk where there's a load more info as well.

I'm sorry to be so long-winded about this and I hope I haven't put you off lunch. But bowel cancer kills far more people than it should and taking a few simple precautions can reduce your risk dramatically. I'll let you all get back to having fun now.

[Vala_TS]

Uh oh! I love to get it hard. Am I in trouble?

Vala,

[DrDr]

Uh oh! I love to get it hard. Am I in trouble?

Vala,

Don't panic!. Without knowing how old you are it's difficult to be precise, but even given an elevated risk due to your sex life, your risk is probably still very low.

Nevertheless you should be aware of the risks and take sensible precautions. I have suggested a few. Taking your doctor into your confidence and making sure he or she knows your lifestyle habits and concerns is essential.

Remember, even if you were to contract bowel cancer--for whatever reason-- if you catch it early enough it is one of the most easily treated cancers of all.

I'm not for one minute suggesting everyone should go all guilty and worried about their sex lives-- we have enough of that anyway-- I just wanted to make people aware of some of the facts and things they can do to help themselves.

Remember--any worries--SEE YOUR DOCTOR!

Ah shit, props on your post but you didnt take note to the coming epidemic. HPV. HPV is a bitch. A faggoty, manipulative faggot. Science fags estimate that 1/4 of slut women have HPV. That shit has scared me to the point of creating a lube/carageenan combo deal.

Maaaaaaaan! I'm paranoid. Since I read that I have a bottle of listerine in my glovebox. Not the minty shit. The brown nasty listerine that your dad used to kiss you on the cheek with when you were 8 years old and he was on the way to work.

I don't even share coca cola or anything anymore. I love coca cola. It's the best drink ever. Even better than Bud Light. But shit, wtf do I have to do?

[Vala_TS]

I'm only 18. I've been anally pleasuring myself since I was 12 though.

Vala,

TMI

[EdelweissFan]

Hey Doc, could it have something to do with HPV? This is a big issue in the states right now (I assume you are in the UK) because the HPV vaccine has just been introduced and several states want to make HPV vaccine for girls mandatory as a means of reducing cervical cancer. Of course, the Christian nutjob lobby wants to prevent the use of the vaccine, so that girls will be afraid of getting cancer and won't have sex.

Anyhoo, HPV also causes anal warts, doesn't it? Is there a correlation between anal warts and colon cancer? Could there be a correlation between promiscuous unprotected anal sex, anal warts and colon cancer?

[Vala_TS]

TMI

What? Was that too shocking of a revelation?

Vala,

[DrDr]

Hey Doc, could it have something to do with HPV? This is a big issue in the states right now (I assume you are in the UK) because the HPV vaccine has just been introduced and several states want to make HPV vaccine for girls mandatory as a means of reducing cervical cancer. Of course, the Christian nutjob lobby wants to prevent the use of the vaccine, so that girls will be afraid of getting cancer and won't have sex.

Anyhoo, HPV also causes anal warts, doesn't it? Is there a correlation between anal warts and colon cancer? Could there be a correlation between promiscuous unprotected anal sex, anal warts and colon cancer?

STD's are not my field but as you say, some variants of the HPV do have an association with cervical cancer in women.

HPV also causes warts, but I haven't seen any research specifically regarding a correlation between promiscuous unprotected anal sex, anal warts and bowel cancer. That certainly does not mean to say there isn't one, just that I don't know if there is or not. There may very well be, so why take chances?

Whatever the specific cause, there is evidence that anal sex does cause elevated risk for BC. Promiscuous unprotected sex is always a high-risk activity and we know that anal sex is riskier than vaginal sex, so really my advice would be to practise safe sex at all times.

I do know that in the UK there is an increase in the incidence of HIV positivity within the gay community as a result of men practising unprotected sex and I would have to say that is pretty worrying.

However I'm not preaching, I am simply suggesting that it's a good idea for everyone but especially people in elevated risk groups to increase their awareness of bowel cancer, its symptoms and what they can do about it. Caught early the chances of recovery are very high. Do all the reading, talk to your physician, start screening regularly and keep an eye on your bowel health generally. Taken together with always practising safe sex you should be able to enjoy a good sex life at the lowest possible risk.

[DrDr]

I'm only 18. I've been anally pleasuring myself since I was 12 though.

Vala,

BC is rare at your age, even in high-risk groups. It does happen but it's unusual. If you have a good relationship with your doctor, start there. If not do plenty of research.