‘I was diagnosed with cancer caused by having oral sex’

Jeff Bradford had a tickly throat and, believing it was triggered by dust from the rafters of his gym, gargled soluble aspirin like he’d done in the past to soothe it.

A fortnight later, when the ‘standard’ sore throat hadn’t eased, the 62-year-old went to his GP who claimed it was ‘classic tonsillitis’ and handed him antibiotics.

A second trip to a different doctor saw the business owner given a stronger dose of antibiotics but, to be on the safe side, he was referred to hospital.

There, a specialist peered into his mouth and said he believed the mass at the back of his throat was cancer and booked him in for a biopsy.

While lying on the operating table, the surgeon informed him the mass had doubled in size since his last scan and suggested they remove the thumb-sized tumour there and then.

After a gruelling four-hour surgery it was removed and tests revealed it was stage-three throat cancer.

Jeff said doctors told him it was caused by the HPV16 strain, contracted through oral sex.

Oral sex was attributed by Hollywood star Michael Douglas’ as the cause of his throat cancer battle in 2010.

Jeff, who underwent chemo and 35 gruelling rounds of radiation therapy, said doctors suggested he’d picked the virus up decades earlier, before he met his wife Heidi Bradford.

Now, 10 years after being declared cancer-free, Jeff is urging anyone with symptoms that don’t clear up within two weeks to seek medical help and ‘keep pushing’ if it doesn’t clear up.

The dad-of-two, who was a corporal in the Royal Air Force for 14 years, said he’d never tell anyone not to have oral sex, citing his diagnosis as simply ‘bad luck’.

Jeff, from Forres, Moray, Scotland, said: “I wasn’t feeling nervous about going to hospital at all, it never crossed my mind about cancer.

“Me and my wife went, we thought ‘it’s on the coast, we’ll make a day of it and have some lunch’.

“When I got there the consultant looked in my throat, he hummed a bit and he said ‘it looks very sinister’.

“I said ‘what do you mean?’ He said he’d do a biopsy but from his experience he thought it was cancer.

“I was quite shocked, I was like ‘what?’ In a way it was a good thing because it got things moving really quickly.

“Driving back 80 miles home, me and my wife never spoke a word.”

Jeff started suffering with a sore throat after doing renovation work at his gym in March 2016 and, despite wearing a protective mask, believed that dust from the rafters was the culprit.

As gargling soluble aspirin didn’t shift it after two weeks, he went to his GP and was given antibiotics for what was believed to be ‘classic tonsillitis’.

A second trip to the GP resulted in a stronger batch of antibiotics and a referral to hospital, where he received the shock diagnosis in May 2016.

After undergoing surgery to remove the cancerous mass in June 2016, Jeff had chemo and radiotherapy treatment in July 2016.

Jeff said: “At the time I was a part-time personal trainer. We’d just opened a gym and I was doing some renovation work.

“We were in the loft putting some equipment up onto the rafters and there was a lot of dust and insulation.

“I had a mask but a couple of days after I had a bit of a sore throat and I thought it was just the dust but I couldn’t shake it.

“I just thought it was a standard sore throat and gargled soluble aspirin.

“I went to the doctors a couple of weeks later and she said ‘it’s classic tonsillitis’ so I got some antibiotics.

“Days later it still felt the same but I had no fever like you get with tonsillitis so I went back, then a different doctor gave me some stronger antibiotics.

“He also took a throat swab as he said it could be strep throat. He was a bit suspicious of it and took some photos.

“I was referred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and within 10 days I got an appointment.

“They must have seen the photos and thought ‘there’s something dodgy going on there’.

“I couldn’t see anything but I could feel something touching the back of my tongue, it was making me gag. It was like something was tickling the back of my tongue.

“The surgeon came up that evening [after the surgery] and he said ‘looking at it, I think you’ve got stage three cancer’ I was just shocked.”

After surgery Jeff went back to hospital and was told his type of cancer had been triggered by HPV16.

Jeff said: “A week later I went back and that’s when they mentioned HPV, I didn’t know what that was.

“HPV is caught through sexual transmission, it’s normally from oral sex.

“I was totally shocked it was from that. When you try to explain it to people as well they’re like ‘what, really?’

“He said ‘it’s probably been in your body for over 30 years’, that’s how long it can stay dormant for.

“He said the sore throat I got could have just opened it up to getting a foothold, it’s just bad luck.

“I’ve had a few partners before I met my wife, but you just go about life like everyone else. You don’t expect when you’re young ‘do that and I might get cancer when I’m 50-odd’.”

After undergoing chemo and 35 gruelling radiotherapy sessions, Jeff was left bedridden for three months, before ringing the bell in August.

Jeff said: “Radiotherapy caused really bad burns. It was like someone took a blowtorch to my neck, it was horrible.

“I went home and went to bed for three months.”

Now Jeff is urging people to get anything unusual checked out.

Jeff said: “I think it’s important to share my story, I’ve got no qualms talking about that at all.

“Everybody does it, don’t they? It’s a normal, sexual activity with somebody you love – it’s an intimate thing that couples do.

“I would never say to anyone ‘give up oral sex’ it’s just a natural thing to do but it might put people off that.

“I think if it’s not talked about quite candidly it’ll get brushed under the carpet and if people are embarrassed to talk about it they may avoid treatment.

“If someone has a persistent sore throat my advice is to get it checked out, it could be easily missed if you don’t push it.”

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the name given to a group of viruses that affect the skin and moist membranes that line the body, such as those in the cervix (neck of the womb), anus, mouth and throat. It’s often spread during sex, including oral sex.

HPV is known to cause changes in the cells of the cervix, which can lead to cervical cancer.
It’s thought the virus may have a similar effect on the cells of the throat, but more research is needed.

Featured image credit: Kennedy News & Media