As South Africa observes Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Khumbulani Moyo, head of the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision programme at Right to Care, spotlights the importance of men to circumcise.
With 16 South African women who die from cervical cancer every day, the NGO calls on men to circumcise to help prevent the second most common cancer in women in South Africa, most often caused by a sexually transmitted infection.
It is explained that you can get Human Papillomavirus Infection (HPV) by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has HPV.
The advantage is that male circumcision is medically proven to reduce the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HPV by up to 60%.
It is further revealed that HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection, is responsible for cervical cancer, anal, penile, breast, and other reproductive organ cancers.
“As part of our national male circumcision programme, we ask men to consider circumcision as one of the single biggest ways to not only protect their health but to protect the health of their female partners by preventing South Africa’s high rates of cervical cancer,” said Moyo.
While almost all sexually active people will be infected with HPV at some point, usually without symptoms – in most cases, the immune system clears HPV from the body.
It is the persistent infection of the cervix with high-risk HPV, if left untreated, that causes 95% of cervical cancers.
The role of male circumcision and HPV
A systematic review of 81 published studies and abstracts proves that male circumcision is a powerful tool to reduce women’s risks of cervical cancer. It provides strong evidence that having circumcised male partners substantially reduces women's risk of HPV infection and lowers the risk of cervical cancer, an HPV-dependent disease.
What men can expect when going for circumcision
Medical circumcision is performed under local anaesthesia and takes only 30 minutes. Besides the anaesthetic injection before the procedure, there is very little pain.
“Your health-care worker will tell you everything you need to know, including how to care for your wound,” he said.
It is also emphasised that while many men are concerned about how getting a circumcision can affect their sexual life, there are no negative consequences on sexual function or pleasure when the procedure is done in a sterile setting in a medical facility.
“In addition to encouraging men to circumcise, we also urge women to screen for cervical cancer with a Pap smear or HPV test,” said Moyo.
The Star
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za