Engaging multiple sexual partners is hazardous

Dr Anita Owusu-Afriyie, a Medical Officer in the Oncology Unit of the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH), has cautioned against engaging multiple sexual partners as the practice is hazardous.

She said the expedition of multiple sexual partners exposes both the practitioner and the innocent partners to great danger and vulnerability, therefore, increasing the chance of meeting a person who is carrying the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a cancer-causing virus.

“The virus that causes HPV infection is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact.” Most people get a genital HPV infection through direct sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie said this at the weekly meeting, “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related topics and setting the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.

“Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility” is a public health advocacy platform initiated by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educational, persuasive, and prompting.

Speaking on the topic: “Some cancers and how to prevent them,” Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie said the risk of getting HPV increases along with the number of sexual partners a person has.

“If you had a positive HPV test and your Pap test was abnormal, your doctor will probably follow up with a colposcopy. Try to see a physician who specializes in this procedure.

“During a colposcopy, your doctor will look more closely at the cervix, vagina, or vulva with a special microscope called a colposcope,” Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie encouraged people to undergo an HPV test and Pap test.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie also zoomed in on the risk factors of breast cancer and stated that excessive alcohol intake, age, women who have not given birth

before, women who give birth but do not breastfeed their babies, early menarche (the first period), obesity, and family history are among them.

She said having early menarche and late menopause meant that one would have a longer period of menstruation, adding that, periods were based on the oestrogen hormones.

She said the oestrogen proliferate with cells such as fat cells to promote the growth of cancers and their spread.

She added that, breastfeeding also helps in reducing the risk, indicating that “when the baby is breastfeeding, the oestrogen level goes down, giving the mother some form of protection.”

She advised women to do regular breast screening to aid in early detection and treatment, stressing, however, that after doing a self-examination, one must visit the hospital for a clinical examination to help pick up any lump that might not be detected through the self-examination.

She said after clinical examination by trained doctors, “if any lump is detected, a diagnostic test would then be carried out to look into the tissues to confirm if it was cancerous, after which treatment would start”.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie added that the two types of tests that were mostly done in Ghana for breast cancer were ultrasonography for women aged below 40 years, and mammography for those aged above 40, adding that breast MRI could also be done to diagnose cancer.

She encouraged women to take advantage of the free breast screenings during the month of October, which is breast cancer awareness month, for early detection, adding however that, screening could also be done at any time.