BoomerGirl Diary

Recently, I have invested energy researching and writing about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and the risk associated with infection of this virus. HPV has become a hot topic not only in healthcare but also in the media. In fact, it is now next to impossible to watch an afternoon or an entire evening of primetime television without seeing an advertisement for Gardasil®, the vaccine currently used to protect women aged 11-26. However, my research left me with the inkling to explore HPV in ways more in depth than the obvious.

Most women now know, whether informed by their healthcare provider, their favorite magazine or the television, that HPV can cause cervical cancer, and that certain “high-risk” strains of HPV place them at greater risk than others. However, most women are unaware that the cervix and vaginal cavity are not the only places that cancer can develop.

As HPV is becoming more prevalent in many populations, health care providers are finding cancerous lesions and tumors of the anus, rectum, mouth, throat and even breast that have pieces of HPV in them. Many healthcare providers simply do not ask women, single or married, about their sexual endeavors. Further, if they do inquire, they generally direct the conversation in the direction of contraceptives and/or other safe-sex practices. The truth of the matter is, women and men who engage in unprotected vaginal, anal and oral sex are at risk for contracting HPV. Even partners in monogamous relationships can spread the virus from one body cavity to another.

Currently there have been more than 180 different strains of HPV identified. Gardasil® is effective only against four strains of the virus. Further, only women are eligible to receive the vaccine. Men, however, play a large role in transmission of the virus. Of the 180 strains of HPV identified thus far, at least 14 have been labeled as “high-risk.” I feel it is important for health care consumers to be aware that being vaccinated is not a cure or prevention, rather a protection.

This blog is in no way meant to substitute the sound medical advice of your health care provider, it is merely an attempt to inform women of the risks associated with HPV beyond cervical cancer. If you have questions or concerns, you should address your health care provider. If you are interested in more information on HPV, take a look at the following sites:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/HPV

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV-and-men.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm

http://www.rdoc.org.uk/hpv.html