Hello Doctor,

I am a 32-year-old heterosexual man. English is not my native language.

Unfortunately, I was never vaccinated against HPV and knew very little about it. My sexual history includes 8 long-term female partners with whom I had vaginal and oral sex, both with and without condoms. I also had about 30 encounters with female massage providers. I did not perform oral sex on them but briefly touched their external genital area with my closed lips, without using my tongue.

In my last relationship, my girlfriend tested positive for HPV-16. She had no cervical lesions, and her Pap smear and colposcopy were normal. We had regular oral sex. I have also been smoking for the past 15 years.

I am very afraid that my past sexual history and smoking have put me at risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. An ENT oncologist examined me and said everything looked normal, but I remain very anxious.

Would it still be appropriate for me to receive the Gardasil 9 vaccine, or is it too late to benefit from it?