on educating others

FACT:  Human Papallomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States.

FACT: In 2008, over 3,700 U.S. women died of cervical cancer — a deadly disease that is 100% preventable.

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Last night I talked to a 25 year old woman who knew practically nothing about HPV and cervical cancer.  She didn’t realize that she should continue getting a Pap, even though she’s engaged and knows her fiance will never cheat.  “But cervical cancer can take years to develop and he could have very well contracted HPV from a girl he slept with prior to you.” She didn’t know what Gardasil was.  And even worse?  She didn’t know the difference between HPV and cervical cancer.  I wanted to slap her across the face cry.

FACT:  An HPV infection can take years or even decades to appear.  Even if you’ve only ever had one partner in your life, you could have been infected by HPV.

It breaks my heard to know that most women are just ignorant towards and uneducated on HPV and cervical cancer.  Even worse, this woman could very well have HPV and not even know it.  Hell, most women out there could have HPV or cervical cancer and not even know it.  Now that’s scary.

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FACT:  Gardasil is the only cervical cancer vaccine that protects against four types of HPV — 2 types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and 2 types that cause 90% of genital warts cases.

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There’s big controversy over the Gardasil vaccine recently.  U.S. schools want to mandate that girls 11 and older get vaccinated for HPV and cervical cancer.  Mothers are protesting against this, saying that it isn’t necessary and because the vaccine has dangerous side effects.  Since when did saving your daughters life become unnecessary? As bad as it is to think that your 15 year old daughter could already be sexually active, it would be worse if she was diagnosed with cervical cancer by the time she’s 30. The reasoning behind getting 11 and 12 year old girls get vaccinated is so that the vaccine is already completely in their system by the time they become sexually active later.

GSK has come out with a similar vaccine, Cevarix. And while the FDA hasn’t approved use of it in the States or the UK yet, it’s only a matter of time before it will be.  I can’t wait to see the top two pharmaceutical companies duke it out over a cancer vaccine.   I’m hoping that once Cevarix gets approved here in the States, more girls and young women will get vaccinated.  And maybe more people will support raising awareness for HPV and cervical cancer.

I wish more people knew about this.  I wish more people knew how serious it is.  I wish more people knew how a deadly disease can be completely preventable with proper education, treatment and awareness.  I wish more people cared.

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FACT: 80% of all sexually active women will test positive for HPV by age 50.

It’s a shame there isn’t more awareness and education on HPV and cervical cancer.  But breast and prostate cancer?  It’s all up in your face like a dirty prostitute with syphillis. I wish *Susan G. Komen would take a year off from having stupid races/walks for once.  But I guess that’s what my purpose is, eh.  It starts with awareness and education.  You can’t prevent this from infecting other women if those women (and men) don’t know about it.

So for all you women out there reading this, consider this your educational session on HPV and cervical cancer.  Get tested.  Get PAP’d.  And get vaccined if you are between the ages of 9 and 26 and have not had cervical cancer.

It’s all about being “one less.”

*Susan Komen, if you are reading this, I am kidding really mean it.  Take a break.  You already have enough money to support breast cancer.  How about spreading herpes breast cancer the love, shall we?