Did you know women can get cancer from an STD?
Sherri's second annual Cervical Cancer prevention rant....
There been much of coverage regarding this subject, thanks to the new vaccine to protect against the HPV virus. This virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
Unfortunately, I am among the 10% where my infection has not gone away wthin 2 years, and it has now progressed into creating pre-cancerous cells. Without treatment, I would be at an extremely high risk of developing cervical cancer. I've been battling this for over 2 years now, and still battling. I may have to go in for a third surgery, and risk not being able to carry children.
To all women out there: Get your annual pap tests! HPV may not be curable, but cervical cancer is just about 100% treatable if caught early.
To all men out there: There is no HPV test for men. You could be a carrier of HPV and not even know it. So, be supportive of your woman, and make sure she gets her annual pap test!
Some facts from Centers for Disease Control:
Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.
Research has shown that for most women (90 percent), cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years. Although only a small proportion of women have persistent infection, persistent infection with "high-risk" types of HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer.
More info:
http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/common-questions.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/pdf/Cervical-FS2007.pdf
There been much of coverage regarding this subject, thanks to the new vaccine to protect against the HPV virus. This virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
Unfortunately, I am among the 10% where my infection has not gone away wthin 2 years, and it has now progressed into creating pre-cancerous cells. Without treatment, I would be at an extremely high risk of developing cervical cancer. I've been battling this for over 2 years now, and still battling. I may have to go in for a third surgery, and risk not being able to carry children.
To all women out there: Get your annual pap tests! HPV may not be curable, but cervical cancer is just about 100% treatable if caught early.
To all men out there: There is no HPV test for men. You could be a carrier of HPV and not even know it. So, be supportive of your woman, and make sure she gets her annual pap test!
Some facts from Centers for Disease Control:
Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.
Research has shown that for most women (90 percent), cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years. Although only a small proportion of women have persistent infection, persistent infection with "high-risk" types of HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer.
More info:
http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/common-questions.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/pdf/Cervical-FS2007.pdf