Skin Wart - source: cc

(Best Syndication News) There is a deadly contagious virus that causes six different cancers that preys on women, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz. Wednesday. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) will be contracted by half of Americans some time in their life. He estimates that 20 million Americans have it right now.

The HPV is known to cause genital warts and cervical cancer, more than 11,000 new cases every year. The virus is also responsible for 90 percent of all anal cancer, according to Oz. Adding to the confusion, there are more than 40 different strains of HPV and most are asymptomatic (no symptoms).

Read More Below:

Most people don’t even know they have the disease which causes 30,000 new cases of six forms of cancer a year and 10,000 deaths. Oz said HPV is not the same as a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), but it is an infection.

Dr. Barbara Goff, a Gynecological Cancer Specialist from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, says the virus can infect the skin of humans and can cause common warts or the feet and cause plantar warts.

You don’t even have to have sex to get the warts in the genital area. “It could come through close intimate contact,” Goff said. It could be passed through the use of shared clothing. She claimed the 70 percent of all people by the age of 50 have acquired the infection at some time.

Goff says women can get tested for the HPV and have a regular pap smear. Besides cervical cancer, the HPV can cause anal cancer and cancers of the vagina, vulva and penis. It can also cause mouth and throat cancers. There is still some debate about prostate, salivary gland and sinus cancers; HPV may cause those cancers as well.

So how does HPV cause cancer? Oz said that when the virus hits the skin, a small piece of protein travels through the skin and gets into the human DNA. This may change the cell from a benign normal cell into a “red” angry cancerous cell.

The cancer can strike at early ages. Emily was just 30 years old when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was forced to have a hysterectomy at 31. She is now a cancer survivor. She did have bleeding in a recent pregnancy, but her early pap smears didn’t detect it. Finally, her fourth pap smear in a year found the cancer.

Goff said that women over 30 should be tested for HPV every 3 years.

Oz said that men can take a cloth, soak it in vinegar, and wrap it around their penis for two minutes. After they take it off warts may be visible using a magnifying glass. This means you may have HPV on the skin.

Goff says the FDA has approved a HPV vaccine that can be given to women, ages 9 through 26. Older women should see their OB Gyn regularly (over 30).

By: Marsha Quinn

Dr. Oz TV Show