cervical cancer

[Kitsune06]

Thanks MD.
Even seeing the freaky factors (from 50% to 75% women will be infected with it at some point in their lives?!) I think I will pursue the vaccination when it's within my means to do so. I should probably actually be tested before I do so. I didn't have fun in college, but I've been with someone who had, and in multiple countries, and that's reason enough. That's the thing about being broke and also not a student- I haven't had an exam since '03. I really need to get a start on that instead of being a hypocrite and b*tching about people not watching themselves.
Thanks to everyone who's posted on this thread. Things like this are hard for people to talk about, in general, but discussion is so important and so informative to not just people posting but also lurkers.
real insight is often not appreciated enough.

[hellosunshine]

well,had a smear test today!!!NICE????


now,in the uk you see the dr for free,smear tests are free,prescriptions are £6.50 i think no matter what drug you have,and hospitals are all free-well,u can go private,but ive been lucky and the national health system has always been brill.


so,to what extent do you lot have to pay for stuff?


"the pill"is free but condoms arent unless you can be bothered to trek up the the GU clinic and sit in a room of people all lookingh slightly embarrassed!

[Kitsune06]

At Planned Parenthood it operates on a sliding scale, though they don't verify employment so I presume people lie about their income to pay less than they should. I don't even remember what it was last time I went; I was going for my Depo shots. I've been in since, but for different reasons and didn't get a real exam.

[EBD]

I am amazed at how much misinformation there is about HPV. I myself had never heard of it . . . until I was diagnosed with it a couple of years ago, after an abnormal pap. Luckily I go to a university medical center with extremely attentive women's health doctors and nurses, so my doctor explained a lot to me - unlike many other gynos here, it seems!

That said, if you are over 40 or married, your doctor probably didn't bring it up because you aren't really at risk anymore. Relax!

First, my doctor did say that *most* young women are infected with HPV at some time in their 20s, but in most people the virus clears by their late 20s without causing problems. (The 1 in 4 figure is for all women ages 14-59 - for women in their twenties the infection rate is estimated to be nearly 50%). One reason it is so prevalent is that the strains of HPV that can cause cervical cancer appear to not cause any ill effects in men. So of COURSE women get it by the droves - the men don't know they have it, and there's no reason for them ever to get tested (I'm not even sure if there is a test for men). Cervical cancer is a major killer of women in some less-developed countries, where women don't have much say in their sex lives AND don't have access to pap smears.

Regular paps should reveal abnormalities caused by HPV with enough time to clear them up before they become cancerous. I had to have two colposcopies and a LEEP procedure to get rid of abnormal cells, but they seem to have done the job. My understanding is that if I go through several normal paps in a row, then the virus may be gone for good.

My boyfriend has never made an issue of my HPV status - and it is clear I didn't get it from him (my parents were also cool about it). The shaming that goes on is ridiculous. These people who don't want girls to get the vaccine because it might cause them to be promiscuous make me crazy. I understand that you wish people would wait until marriage - but you really think CANCER is a just punishment? I do not believe that is what Jesus had in mind.

Also I would like to clarify that the strains of HPV that cause warts and the strains that cause cancer are separate strains of the virus. Warts do not = cancer.

[Cha Cha]

Timing of this thread couldn't be better - I'm going in for a colpo on Tuesday after my pap came back "atypia" and the HPV was positive. I'm 42 and in a committed relationship, so the HPV had me a little freaked at first, but after reading a lot of good information, learned that it's no reflection of anyone's morals or character or whatever. The virus also can pass thru latex, so condoms are not a reliable preventive.

Here's a very informative website you might want to check out -

http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_overview.cfm

Okay, climbing down off the soap box now...

Question: I'm a little concerned about how long the colpo will keep me 'out of the saddle' - anybody out there had one that could advise? Thanks so much! I'd rather think about that than the possibility that I have cancer... though fortunately, 'atypia' is not usually a big cause for concern. Keep your fingers crossed, please!

Amy

[Grog]

Question: I'm a little concerned about how long the colpo will keep me 'out of the saddle' - anybody out there had one that could advise? Thanks so much! I'd rather think about that than the possibility that I have cancer... though fortunately, 'atypia' is not usually a big cause for concern. Keep your fingers crossed, please!

Amy,

Good luck for your colpo. I've had quite a few of those. I was not cycling at the time but I don't think it would have kept me out of the saddle more than one day. I distinctly remember that getting my cervix scratched made me feel like I feel on the first day of my periods, which entails lower back and right thigh pain. And sometimes some bleeding. That lasted no more than a day.

It might be different for you but if it's properly done I don't think it should keep you out of the saddle for that long.

[chickwhorips]

Question: I'm a little concerned about how long the colpo will keep me 'out of the saddle' - anybody out there had one that could advise? Thanks so much! I'd rather think about that than the possibility that I have cancer... though fortunately, 'atypia' is not usually a big cause for concern. Keep your fingers crossed, please!

fingers are crossed. i had one done about three years ago. the first couple of days i was quite sore. its not the most comfortable thing to have done. my doc told me to take some ibuprofens before i went it. i'm glad i did.

i too wasn't biking at the time and don't know how long you maybe out. hopefully not to long.

[trickytiger]

Whew- this feels a little personal, but:

I was diagnosed with HPV strain 16 (the bad cancer-related one) about three years ago, after a scary (level 4 out of 5, when 5 means cancer) pap result. I knew for sure I got it from my boyfriend at the time, so at the very least now he knows he's a carrier. I had a colpo with good results - my body cleared the bad cells very quickly, and haven't had any bad paps since. That relationship is long gone and for good reasons, but the end result is that I take care of myself better- I was advised to get lots of sleep, eat well, exercise lots, and actively search out ways to reduce stress to enable my body to continue to keep the virus repressed and to "clear" it. I've taken that advice seriously- so at least some good came out of this!

I don't like the "moral" arguments against the vaccine at all. It's not a moral issue to me, and the focus just seems to "punish" women for having sex- as if you "deserve" cancer. No one deserves it!

[madisongrrl]

The virus also can pass thru latex, so condoms are not a reliable preventive.

It's not that it passes though latex (it doesn't), it's that latex doesn't cover all of your skin. It spreads though skin-to-skin contact.