A report by the Ministry of Health highlights cancer as the third leading cause of death in Kenya, with 39,000 new cases recorded every year.

Annually cancer kills more than 27,000 people in the country, a statistics attributed to late diagnosis.

Apart from the common causes such as genetics, foods and exposure to carcinogenic products, several cancers can also be triggered by engaging in sexual activities.

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) contracted through sex has been reported to be the major cause of cervical cancers in women.

In 2011, Canadian doctors established that oral sex was the number one cause of throat and mouth cancer.

According to the experts, oral cancers related to HPV made a staggering increase from 16.3 per cent to 71.7 per cent in just twenty years between 1984 and 2004.

Though some doctors disagree with the findings, in 2013 Hollywood superstar Michael Douglas attributed his oral cancer to HPV.

A radiation oncologist at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Dr Catherine Nyongesa, told a local paper that anal cancer may develop after chronic anal sex.

Other cancers associated with sexually transmitted viruses include, Karposi sarcoma – which develops in people who are infected with HIV – and vulvar cancer.