Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson claims tongue cancer was caused by too much oral sex

Bruce Dickinson has opened up about his cancer scare

IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson has said that his recent cancer scare could have been caused by having too much oral sex.

 

Bruce was given the all-clear back in May after being diagnosed with a tumour on his tongue late last year.

The 56-year-old has now spoken out about his experience in an interview with Opie Radio's Jim Norton.

 

He explained: "The thing about the HPV virus is people don't know a great deal about it. I don't mean to be flippant or anything, but you would expect lesbians to have a higher incidence of it.

"But no, there's is 25% less than in men. It seems to be something that affects men."

 

Iron Maiden frontman claims his tongue cancer was caused by having oral sex

Bruce was given the all-clear in May

Musician was diagnosed with cancer just before Christmas

Bruce continued: "There are 150 or so strains of HPV virus, but only a couple you're interested in. 80% of us have been exposed to it, and you can't get rid of it.

"It comes and it goes. For some reason, and nobody knows why, in guys over 40 it can persist."

"The virus leaves behind a little genetic code, that starts off the cancer."

The musician was diagnosed with cancer after a routine check-up just before Christmas

 

He underwent chemotherapy and radiology and has now been told he's in the clear after specialists conducted an MRI scan of his tongue.

Bruce said of what he's learnt from the whole thing: "I've learnt to have less time for people who waste my time. If I want to waste my time, I'll waste my own time.

"They also had me on morphine for the last couple of weeks for pain. It was very disappointing."

 

He then added: "There are hundreds of thousands of people dealing with this every day. It's astonishing there aren't more people jumping off bridges, you know?"

After being given the all-clear, the father-of-three thanked his fans for their support and told of his plans to return to stage in a statement on the group's official website.

However, his manager Ron Smallwood vetoed his idea, and banned shows and touring until next year after the singer has fully recovered.