I guess it's not so much news as it is a lot more current detail on this, via today's Reuters report carried on CBS News and MSNBC.

Half of the 1,100 men aged 18 to 70 studied at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa had contracted HPV.  That's definitely news.  This is the virus for which Gardisil vaccination has been recommended for pre-sexually active females.  Maybe now it will also be recommended for young males.  Meanwhile, it raises questions for us "hobbyists".  Yes, only 6% of the study group had the strain which causes most head and neck cancers.  HPV also goes away in 90% of cases.  However, DATY-hounds take note:  the risk threshold is ten or more partners.  (Hmm, how many reviews do I have?  Like I need to ask!)  Two-thirds of male tongue and tonsil cancers are attributable to HPV.  Assuming you're now or will at some point be in the half of all men with HPV, does one further want to risk being in the 10% for whom it doesn't go away?  Or the 6% with the really bad strain?  These look like low percentages, but we're talking about ALL men -- big numbers!

Female condoms are a turnoff, though maybe as necessary in light of the above (when DATY is in the mix) as the male kind (the need for which is questioned by no sane individual.)  Maybe we should simply think twice about DATY and instead, make the session include only activities which make us guys (who are the ones paying) feel good.  I know, I read the reviews -- DATY also makes DATY-hounds feel good and even get off or be on the road to it.  For some people, so does toe-sucking, being whipped or even golden showers.  But I bet most of us do it simply and solely to try to achieve a sense of greater involvement with the provider via getting an O (even if fake) out of her.  Now comes the question:  is the risk worth seeking that completely momentary and purely fantasy connection, which usually ends about the time a warm washcloth comes into play (if you are lucky)?

What do YOU think?

There are all sorts of risks in the hobby. You should participate at a level of risk you feel comfortable with.

Is there ANYthing that cannot make you sick??  To your question: Y E S !!

It's not worth the risk to me...  I have only done DATY to one provider out of the 80 or so I have seen; mainly because of the risks involved.  And then only on rare occasiosns with her, and because her sugar hole looks so good, I sometimes can not resist it...

Respectfully, you have 42 reviews. Assuming that represents all of the hobbyist encounters you've had, don't you think the horse you speak of has already left the barn?

Note, I test regularly and as far as I know there is no test for HPV in males, unless you have a big honkin' wart on your pee-pee.

You took a chance in high school having sex.

If you dated extensively, you probably took a lot of risks and didn't know it or didn't think about it.

Hell, you even take a chance when you marry. Did you require a full STD panel before you said, "I do?"

The best thing to do is assume everybody has something and protect yourself accordingly. Period. End of story.

I wasn't going to post this as I didn't want to further alarm everyone on this health risk (felt I should say something after thinking about it overnight), but unfortunately I became a statistic in that "deadly 6% range".  I was diagnosed with tongue cancer in the summer of "07 and went thru a "year of hell" battling the disease.  I was treated with a 12 hr operation, 6 weeks of intense radiation and chemotheraphy.  It is caused by 4 possible events: chewing tobacco, smoking, alcohol drinking and of course, HPV virus.  It now looks like most of the tongue and tonsil cancers are caused by HPV (oral sex driven), where up until the last couple of years it was strictly thought to be tobacco and alcohol realated (lifestyle caused, not hereditary).  However, it is now almost 4 yrs passed since my treatment for sqaumous cell carcinoma and I am considered 96 % cured, not remission!  Bottom line, I definitely am way over the threshold of 10 mentioned in the article.  So, believe the article!  I have a sale semployee in my company who I have know for years, and he also went thru the same as myself with a diagnosis of tonsil cancer.  Also, Michael Douglas and George Karl (Denver Nuggets coach) went thru the same thing as myself with the exact diagnosis.  Douglas was test for HPV and came back positive for the virus.  So, be careful out there!

"majoraccent" -- I didn't write this about my own risk.  As you wrote, in my case the horse has certainly already left the barn, and in view of the new information and statistics, that is now more worrisome compared to the vaguer risk which I absolutely knew about before (but which didn't stop me.)  I started this thread to alert the local hobbyist community, not out of personal concern for my own welfare.  Also, there is indeed a test for HPV (I think I'll be looking into it), apparently including down to the various strains.  How else could the medical researchers have determined those percentages?

"greenjean" -- thanks for sharing your experience.  It means a lot more for us to hear from someone firsthand as opposed to simply discussing a news report.  I hope your cure is soon deemed complete.

Thanks to all who have read and added comments to this thread.

So chewing tobacco, smoking, alcohol drinking is Okay. Sorry I’m not trying to make a joke out of your illness but what isn’t safe for us any more. Every time you pick up the paper or look on the net there’s a new study about some thing we’ve been doing all or lives and now it’s not safe for us to do any more. Just recently I saw two major accidents in my neighborhood one killed a young lady put 4 people in the hospital and destroyed 4 cars. The other killed 2 people. Even walking across the street isn’t safe any more so I’ll take my chances and keep DATY. At least I’m not in a car when I’m doing it or not driving I hope. If one doesn’t get me the other will.

Hope things are going better for you now and you’re on the way to a full recovery.

Note the article below stating there is no current test for asymptomatic HPV in men.

Greenjean, godspeed on your recovery. Certainly should give us all pause.

Actually there are tests to see if you are carriers of HPV, as in Michael Douglas's case he was tested and proved positive, however there is no proof he contracted his cancer from HPV as he has been a heavy drinker/smoker all of his life.  My doctors told me I could be tested, but it wouldn't mean anything since I already had contracted squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and they couldn't prove that it developed from HPV.  They concurred it developed from many years of alcohol use (I entertain alot in my business with clients).  There are just some individuals where the cells in their mouth are more susceptible to developing cancer from tobacco and alcohol then others.  However, the many recent articles make me think mine originated from HPV, since two-thirds of the 6% that develop the HPV16 strain develop cancer of the tongue or tonsil or both, particularily if you are over the threshold of 10 partners.  So, for me, I have minimized my alcohol consumption compared to previous years.  The good news on this type of cancer is it is highly curable, depending upon when you identify it, as much as 90% or greater.  If you go 5 years plus cancer free you are considered cured.  In Michael Douglas's case, his percentage is in the 80% range because he waited longer to vistit a doctor for treatment.

To answer your question 85003, chewing tobacco, smoking and alcohol drinking are NOT OK when trying to identify the cause of head and neck cancers as these are considered causes still.  With the recent articles published, their studies show that two-thirds of the cancers are caused by the HPV16 strain (6% of the HPV contracted cases) and the other one-third, probably by tobacco and alcohol use or some other unknow cause.  This information was given to me by my sugeon and radiation oncologist concerning the tobacco and alcohol use.