Cervical cancer a "ho" disease? -rant

Ok... i'm really really really :mad:

So, it turns out I may have the beginnings of cervical cancer. Here I am doing a lot of research on the web and all sites seem to point to these as the culprits for this perfectly curable disease:

1. early sexual intercourse;
2. multiple partners;
3. infection with HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) that is sexually transmitted.

In other words, I get the message that whoever has this problem is basically a slut.

The doctors aren't helping to ease the feeling. They basically disregard my concern about this, despite all three culprits not applying to me.

Number 3 does not imply that one is a whore or loose or anything else. It means a woman get infected by some jerk who played around.
Unless you're a virgin, the third cause could apply to any woman who has had sex at least once.

there's a LOT of good info out there, but there's also a TON of crap, nevermind the sometimes hidden agendas out there.

in any event, i have yet to find a good etiology site. the best you get are, as you found, perhaps a few leading causes or risk factors for a disease or condition. it can be difficult to find, a complete breakdown of causes, though the cdc may have something useful....

in any event, once you have an illness, how you got it is besides the point as far as you are concerned. it may be relevant to reduce future incidence of the disease, but that's hardly your immediate concern.

feel better, and heal well!

It doesn't indicate promiscuity.

Yes, human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer. And it is spread sexually. But sex does NOT cause cervical cancer. Nor if you get cervical cancer does it mean you are a slut. Multiple partners increases the risk, just as with anything that can be sexually transmitted. But lot's of women who have only ever had one partner get cervical cancer. There are nuns who get cervical cancer!

But not only do women who unfortunately get it have to deal with the cancer, they have to deal with that damn "well it's you're fault and it wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a whore" attitude. It makes me furious!!!!

I am very sorry to hear that you may have it. I hope very much that you don't. But if, god forbid, you do - keep that anger. I hope everything turns out well for you.

Khash.

We were just reading about an actress we really liked (from China) who just passed away from this. Get it fixed!

But HPV is a very common infection, and affects a large percentage of women, in part because it can be transmitted via skin-to-skin contact.I work with adolescent females and their sexual/gyne health needs, and it not at all uncommon to have the young girls test positive for strains of HPV. I am in no way suggesting that this is your case, as you have mentioned - just that "sluts" are not the only people who would contract HPV.

THAT SAID, I was not under the impression that an STI was the only cause of infection - HPV is the primary risk factor, but not the only one. Also, it is important to note that abnormal cellular activity on the cervix does not translate directly to "cancer." Thus, women can, and do, appear at their gyne appointments with cellular changes that are not related to any form of STI.

I am so sorry to hear that you are not having a positive experience with your physican. They can be very insentitive when they make the assumption that an individual has an STI. Perhaps a Planned Parenthood in your area can refer you to a clinic that would make you feel more comfortable?

It's just a fact that those are the risk factors for cervix cancer. That doesn't mean they apply to everyone who gets it, it just means that those factors increase the risk of getting it.

Most cervix cancers are caused by the HPV virus. That virus is sexually transmitted. More sexual partners from an earlier age increase your risk of getting the virus. That isn't meant to be a judgment on the part of the medical community, it's just the etiology of the disease.

If young women know about these risk factors, maybe they can protect themselves from them. If you have dysplasia or cancer and these things don't apply to you, it makes no difference to you. Risk factors are studied for every type of cancer in the hopes of preventing them.

In the case of cervix cancer this is working. A combination of education, Pap screening and more recently vaccines for HPV have resulted in dramatic decreases in the incidence of cervix cancers. That couldn't happen if we didn't understand the causes.

My husband recently worked on a project regarding cervical cancer and the effectiveness of Pap smears. If you partake of any of the risk factors, you have a greater risk of getting cervical cancer. It does not by any means mean that you are a slut.

My mother-in-law had lung cancer and never smoked a day in her life.