HPV - Tell Someone

So, we've all seen the commercials for the new vaccine for women and girls that prevents cervical cancer. The whole "Tell Someone" campaign... but just to make sure we're all on the same page...

Cervical Cancer is commonly caused by the Human Papilloma Virus. There are over a hundred strains of this virus, a few causing the cervical cancers, a few causing genital warts, and others do God knows what. The virus has been around for a long time, but because there are so few symptoms, the medical field has had a hard time figuring out what it really does, why it does it, and what to do about it. They finally made a correlation between the virus and the cancer, and made the first vaccine that prevents a cancer!! Amazing stuff I know!! This vaccine is currently (if the docs can get their hands on it) administered to girls ages 9-26.

Now, even though the commercials are aired nationally, most people still don't have a clue as to what this is all about. When I've mentioned this virus at work, people have no clue what I'm talking about, and most mothers, when asked about the vaccine, shrug it off because there's "no history of cervical cancer in their family".

This isn't their fault mind you. In my opinion, the commercials don't tell the whole story, and I don't quite get why. HPV is a Sexually Transmitted Disease. It's actually the most common STD in the US, and the world. Millions of people have it, and don't know it!From what I've read, if you or your partner have slept with four or more people, it's almost certain you carry a strain of the virus. Now remember, there are over a hundred strains. Which means, you could potentially be carrying more than one strain. But when I say it's sexually transmitted, I'm giving you sort of a false picture. Don't assume I mean intercourse. The virus is transmitted skin to skin. So, you can pick up a strain with any type of contact you may have with any one's affected genitals. That's a scary thought.

So, is that why the commercials, and news articles tend to gloss over that fact? They don't want us to freak out? They're hoping our interest gets peaked and we ask our doctors, or look it up online? They sure do have a lot of confidence in us, don't they?

Women will only find out they have HPV if they have abnormal pap tests.
Men, you'll never know, unless your woman has an abnormal pap test.
Parents, protect your girls and splurge on the vaccine!!! I know some of you don't want to "condone" sexual conduct, so you'll avoid the vaccine. DON'T!The world is a cruel place. Little girls get raped while waiting for the school bus. Young women get raped at frat parties. Heck, Amish girls get raped by their brothers! Shit happens!You can try to protect them for the first 18 years of their lives, but with the vaccine, you're protecting them from a cancer for the rest of their life. Think about it.
Wow. I'm not usually preachy, but I feel better now. Because I told someone. Hah, get it?

What?

Every once in a while, I hear things that make me stop and scratch my head. Kind of like, "You're kidding right?" You know, stupid things people say, or juxtapositioned situations, etc...
So, I'm just going to list them here, as they come along. Because I find them funny, and funny is good.

--Yesterday, I ate New York Style Salt & Vinegar Bagel Bites- made in Bulgaria.

--A news reporter was reporting on a situation involving six people who had barricaded themselves in a house, she said, "Five of the suspects are men, the other is a woman".

-- My mother was trying to show my sister a scratch she had seen on my nephew's leg. She couldn't find it and she said, "well, it's on one of these legs here."

-- At the bottom of a Lease Agreement at work: "In Withness wereof, the parties hereto have set their hand and seals the day and year first above written."


-- On the telephone:
     Me: Is so and so there?
     Girl: I don't know actually.  I will transfer you to his extension.  If he picks up, then he's there.  If he doesn't, he's not.