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Human Papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted disease (there are more than 100 types), but many people don't know much about it or worry about it. You may have been exposed to HPV and not even been aware of it. Why do I say that? Because at least 75 percent of the reproductive-age population has been infected with one or more types of genital HPV, and up to 6.2 million new infections occur each year. It's approximated that 20 million Americans are infected with the genital form of the virus. The good news is, the majority of these cases cause no symptoms or health problems and your healthy immune system can get rid of the infection with no treatment. The bad news: some particularly nasty strains of HPV which occur in about 5 percent of women cause nearly all cases of cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated that 11,070 women were infected by these strains in 2008, and around 3,870 of them died as a result.
That's a lot of numbers, but you get the point. This STD is often highly overlooked and can spread like herpes only potentially it could kill you. This is why I was so upset by my mom's phone call a few weeks ago. She had gone in for a regular checkup with her OB/GYN and he was concerned by her pap smear. She's 59 and has gone through menopause, and supposedly at that point in a woman's life some abnormal cell clusters are normal, but hers appeared to be a high risk for HPV and potentially a high risk for cancer. She was really worried and thus I became worried. Thankfully after further biopsies the results came back as normal and they are just going to continue to monitor her closely.
This put a scare into me though. If I am young and HPV free now, then why not get vaccinated? The Gardasil shot prevents against the the two most common high-risk strains, the two most common low-risk types. Insurance normally covers the shot, but I was over the approval age. Had I missed my chance?
Coincidentally, my regular checkup was scheduled for the next week. I told my doctor about the scare with my mom and that I wanted more information about Gardasil. He explained to me that the vaccine is routinely recommended for girls before they become sexually active (usually around 11 or 12). It has been tested effectively on women up to age 26 who did not receive it when they were younger. While the shot will not work against one of the four strains if you've already been infected, it will work against all others and they are 99-100% effective. He also said that while he technically he isn't allowed to suggest it to me as a 28-year-old woman, he could in his expert opinion tell me that there is no physiological difference between me and a 26-year-old. That was all I needed to hear--a few minutes later I was being prepped for my shot.
Man, did that injection hurt! It goes right into the muscle in your upper arm. He said the solution is particularly acidic feeling and he was right--it stung like hell. My shoulder and upper arm area felt very sensitive as if bruised, and was very hard to sleep on for around two weeks. The way Gardasil works is you get three shots, each two months apart. I have to admit, I am dreading the second shot and am bummed that my insurance won't cover it (three shots at $180 each is $540 total), but it is a small price to pay in the prevention of cervical cancer. If you are a young woman out there or have a young daughter, I strongly advise you to find out more about Gardasil. My mom can't be so lucky to have a vaccine, but I'm glad that I am.
For more information, check out the Center for Disease Control, the National Cancer Institute and Gardasil.com.
