What if Cervical Cancer ISN"T just a Sexually Transmitted Disease?
EducationGuardian.co.uk comment Dying of ignorance
I read this article last night and was wondering about this earlier last week when I read that it is possible to pick up HPV off of a public toilet. I just don't want to worry about everything, but I do think that it is possible that these things could be picked up in more than one way if a nun can be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
I also read that if you have more than three sexual partners your chances of picking up HPV are increased. I know that when I was young AIDS was a huge new disease. For whatever reason it was the "IN" disease and because of the publicity people were at least cognizant of the possibilities of picking up a deadly disease. It would be nice to see that HPV got the same push into public consciousness as it is not pretty. Young people, not unlike older people, think they are invincible, and that nothing will happen to them. How do parents address that?
I read this article last night and was wondering about this earlier last week when I read that it is possible to pick up HPV off of a public toilet. I just don't want to worry about everything, but I do think that it is possible that these things could be picked up in more than one way if a nun can be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
I also read that if you have more than three sexual partners your chances of picking up HPV are increased. I know that when I was young AIDS was a huge new disease. For whatever reason it was the "IN" disease and because of the publicity people were at least cognizant of the possibilities of picking up a deadly disease. It would be nice to see that HPV got the same push into public consciousness as it is not pretty. Young people, not unlike older people, think they are invincible, and that nothing will happen to them. How do parents address that?
posted by Impatient Patient at Tuesday, January 17, 2006
2 Comments:
I hope that it DOESN'T get publicity as an STD, because you can get cervical cancer just because, too. It's not always sexually transmitted. I had it and I wasn't promiscuous at all! It's just that some men carry this; but that's not always the cause of the cancer. I was humiliated when I first found out I had cervical cancer because I'd associated it purely with promiscuity, etc., yet that's not the kind of woman I was. Fortunately, my doctor set me straight on that. It was a long time ago, so I'd probably have to look up some of the info on it again, to be able to actually quote some of the facts he gave me, and I'm not going to do that right now. But, if this started getting a rap as an STD, a lot of women who aren't sexually active would not get checked for it and could end up dying from it, since it is a "silent" killer. Just my two cents worth. I like your blog, btw.
Yes- you can get cervical cancer just because. There is another article further up that makes this claim as well. Both things SHOULD be looked at, as if there are more than one way to get the disease then it should be known. The problem I have is that in some circles there is a reaction against an HPV vaccine because it can be an STD so it shouldn't be vaccinated against. That is stupid thinking. Hepatitis can be prevented by WHATEVER way you get it with a Hep vaccine. Should kids or adults be denied that vaccine because you CAN get it from a risky lifestyle as well as other ways?
HPV like Herpes has an unfortunate stigma attached to it. It seems to me that kids should be educated about risk factors- all risk factors. Hygeine should be promoted wherever and whatever you are doing. Shit happens and no-one should be ashamed because they got something - medicine is not supposed to be about morally judging the patient.
There is probably more than one thing involved in turning HPV from an infection to cancer. There are a lot of ways cancer can be triggered. One of the things that I don't know is do all HIV patients get Karposi's sarcoma- it is a cancer that is triggered by HIV infection and one of the first real clues that some cancers were caused by infectious agents. If not, why not?
I cannot imagine how you must have felt getting your diagnosis. I was having fits and chickens waiting for my biopsy.
I don't think that labelling HPV a possible STD is a bad thing, but I do think it ought to be investigated to find out how else it is transmitted.
Post a Comment
<< Home