‘Never heard of it before’: Sexual infection we need to talk about

A Sydney woman whose sexually transmitted infection turned into something much more sinister wants people not to be ashamed about sex.

Jo Murray had never heard of the sexually transmitted infection that could have cost her life.

The NSW mum-of-five simply had a sore throat on and off that she didn’t think anything of until she noticed a lump form.

“The first doctor I saw said you’re just fighting off an infection, here’s a prescription, come back and see me in seven weeks,” she said.

“When I did my blood test, the results came back with nothing.

“As soon as he handed me the script, I knew that I wouldn’t be filling it and I threw it straight in the bin when I got home.

“I was really angry and unsure why – I just knew that it wasn’t an infection, and I knew something wasn’t right.”

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Jo Murray had a sore throat that turned out to be cancer.

The 46-year-old saw her regular GP when he was back from holidays in January last year and he immediately sent her for further tests.

“I knew there was something wrong,” she said.

“I had a gut feeling I needed to take it further. Fear came over me and I thought I need to get answers and tests.”

Those tests revealed Ms Murray had stage three throat cancer in her tonsil, the base of her tongue and left lymph node.

The cancer was caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus.

HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection which usually shows no symptoms and goes away by itself, but can sometimes cause serious illness.

While it is responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer, it causes 60 per cent of throat cancers, among several other kinds.

“Some people think it’s only related to cervical cancer and it’s not,” Ms Murray said.

“I’d never heard of it before I was diagnosed.

“I didn’t get regular pap smear tests done, if I had maybe it would have come up.

“Later in life you become sexually active but you’re not aware there’s this virus you can contract.”

READ MORE: Woman warns ‘don’t hesitate’ after receiving cancer diagnosis

Jo Murray had a sore throat that turned out to be cancer.

Ms Murray said sex or HPV was not something people should be ashamed to talk about.

“We all know about AIDS and herpes, they’re spoken about a lot, but HPV to me isn’t, it’s not spoken about enough,” she said.

“It’s so important to not be embarrassed about talking about HPV – sex is human, and we need more people to be aware that it can lead to head and neck cancers.”

Ms Murray is hosting her first Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea this year to raise awareness and funds for the Cancer Council.

She wants others to know you should always trust your instinct and get a second or third opinion where possible.

“When you do get a diagnosis like this, make sure you’ve always got a support group around you,” she said. “I was petrified every single day so I can’t thank my family enough for getting me through it.”