'You are reading this commentary today about anal cancer ... and the need for an HPV vaccine for young people, because in what can only be described as a generous act, Marcia Cross used her celebrity to warn you,' writes Peggy Drexler for CNNOpinion
Peggy Drexler is a research psychologist and the author of "Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family" and "Raising Boys Without Men." She is at work on a book about how women are conditioned to compete with one another and what to do about it. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. View more opinion on CNN.
Nearly a year after Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross disclosed that she'd undergone treatment for anal cancer, she has revealed that the disease was likely caused by the same strain of human papillomavirus -- or HPV -- that led to her husband's throat cancer. Peggy DrexlerIt's a deeply personal thing to share -- a medical issue, for one thing, with sexual undertones concerning a form of sex often seen as unmentionable. So was it too personal? Or bracingly forthright? The answer is clear.
Can oral sex cause throat cancer? 02:56Cross also said she hopes to raise awareness of anal cancer's potential causes. When her husband, Tom Mahoney, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009, neither knew that the type of HPV that likely triggered his condition could also lead to anal cancer, as well as other types of cancer.
Chrissy Teigen reveals postpartum depression 00:51When Chrissy Teigen talked openly about her postpartum depression, many fans came forward to thank her for helping them realize that what they were feeling had a name -- and that they were not alone. Cross knows that her message has more power than most. As she told CBS, Bree Van de Kamp, the TV character that had made her famous,"would not have told a soul,.".
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