CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS PLEASE SHARE FOR AWARENES

He wants to dance and sing to every song
But I can't somethings wrong
I'm ready to adventure today
Why can't it always be that way?
I'm falling asleep..but it's not night
'Wakey wakey' he says hugging me tight
10 minute walk into town
Already I need to sit down
'Mammy where's your hair'
Suddenly it's not there
'Mammy's all different now'
At 3, he can't understand how

It didn't have to be this way
Not yesterday, tomorrow or today
Government says 25 plus
I'm too young who'd give a fuss?
Cervical screening, what should I care?
That age limit must be fair
Only 22 years
Government can't you see my tears?
'You're too young to die'
They lie lie and lie

Riddled with pain in bed
'Come back when your 25' they said
'I'm sorry you have cancer stage...'
Excuse me doctor you must have the wrong page
Government says I'm too young for this
My son, my son what am I going to miss?

Who's to explain to my son I was left to get sick?
Government how do you chose to pick?
I want to see him grow big and strong This could have been different all along
Do you have to ask how?
What does one do now?

If I was your daughter would it be the same?
I don't want to hear your excuses, they're lame
So many young just like me
Please open your eyes and see
How many need to go
Till we get that age low?
to you my life may be worth nothing
But what about my son, my king?

Is it money you don't want to spend?
So instead young lives have to end
Hear me 'I want to stay'
Please take that age away
The difference a smear test would have made
Instead I'm scared and afraid

I have hope to keep me going
In this boat I'll caring on rowing
But ladies at the age..Listen here
Please please get that SMEAR

** Diagnosed with cervical cancer at 20 years old. How many more young ladies must lose their lives until we get that age limit taken away? Stand to the government and ask why? It could have been your daughter, sister, mother or aunt instead it's me! SAVE YOUNG WOMEN'S LIVES, THAT'S WHAT SMEARS DO (A Conlon)

The Eve Appeal leaflet

Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix (also known as the neck of the womb) which connects a woman's womb and her vagina.

Cervical cancer can affect women of all ages but is most common in women between 30 - 45 years of age.  It is very rare in women under 25 years of age. Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease. In the UK we have a very successful cervical screening programme which is estimated to save over 4,000 lives each year.  In the future, most cervical cancers will be prevented by HPV vaccination, but for the next few decades, cervical screening will still be vitally important.

The earlier cervical cancer is diagnosed, the better the outcome will be, so it is important to know the signs and symptoms.

The key early signs and symptoms of cervical cancer are:

• any unusual bleeding from the vagina particularly
• after sex
• after menopause when your periods have stopped
• persistent vaginal discharge that is blood stained or smells unpleasant

Even if you have had a normal screening result or been vaccinated against HPV, it's important to let your doctor know if you develop any of the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer so they can be checked out.

http://www.eveappeal.org.uk/gynaecological-cancers/cervical-cancer/

Celebrities Who've Lost The Battle With Cervical Cancer ( part III )



Kay Medford



Kay Medford (September 14, 1914 – April 10, 1980) was an American character actress and comedienne. She was the original "Mama" in Bye Bye Birdie, starring opposite Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera on Broadway, garnering excellent reviews, but lost the film role to Maureen Stapleton. Medford appeared in the Warner Bros. rock and roll film, Jamboree (1957), in which she played the manager of singer Pete Porter, played by Paul Carr. Medford made her Broadway debut in 1951 in the musical Paint Your Wagon. She was cast in Carousel, before she appeared on stage in Funny Girl as the mother of Fanny Brice (played by Barbra Streisand); for this performance she was nominated for a 1964 Tony Award for Featured Actress (Musical),[2] and when she repeated the role in the 1968 film adaptation, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Medford was cast in guest-starring role on various television series, including the 1958 Beverly Garland syndicated crime drama, Decoy. From 1969-1970, she co-starred opposite John Forsythe in the CBS sitcom, To Rome With Love. Medford also had a leading role on NBC's The Dean Martin Show for several years.

Kay Medford never married. She died from cervical cancer in New York City in 1980.




Little Eva

Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003),known by the stage name of Little Eva (after a character from Uncle Tom's Cabin), was an American pop singer.

Born in Belhaven, North Carolina, she moved to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York at a young age. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It is often claimed that Goffin and King were amused by Boyd's individual dancing style, so they wrote "The Loco-Motion" for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended for Dee Dee Sharp).However, as King said in an interview with NPR and in her "One to One" concert video, they knew she could sing when they met her, and it would be just a matter of time before they would have her record songs they wrote, the most successful being "The Loco-Motion".Music producer Don Kirshner of Dimension Records was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released. The song reached #1 in the United States in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. After the success of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.The same year, Goffin and King wrote "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)" (performed by The Crystals) after discovering that Boyd was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with apparent sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.She continued performing until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2001. She died 18 months later in Kinston, North Carolina, aged 59, and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina.

Mary Lundby


Mary Adelaide Lundby (February 2, 1948 – January 17, 2009) was a state Senator from the Iowa's 18th District. She served in the Iowa Senate from 1995 to 2009, serving as Minority Leader from 2006 to 2007 and as Co-Majority Leader in 2006. She also served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995, serving as Speaker pro Tempore from 1992 to 1994. Prior to her election to the Iowa House, Lundby had served as the co-chair of the Linn County Republican party, as a member of the Linn County Republican Central Committee, and as staff assistant to then-senator Roger Jepsen. She graduated from Upper Iowa University, majoring in Political Science and History.

Lundby died on January 17, 2009 after a three-year battle with cervical cancer.

Nora Astorga

Nora Astorga Gadea de Jenkins (1948 — February 14, 1988) was a Nicaraguan guerrilla fighter in the Nicaraguan Revolution of 1979, a lawyer, politician, judge and the Nicaraguan ambassador to the United Nations from 1986 to 1988.
On February 14, 1988, "La Norita" died of cervical cancer in Managua, aged 39. She was awarded the title "Hero of the Fatherland and Revolution" and the Order of Carlos Fonseca on July 1987, which was the highest order of Nicaragua at the time.She appears as one of the twelve apostles in the mural of the Visitación at Casa Ave Maria in Managua. A barrio, or neighborhood, in Managua was named for her.

The 1986 song "Mariel" by the KBC Band was inspired by Nora Astorga.

Celebrities Who've Lost The Battle With Cervical Cancer ( part II )


1. Ann Christy



Ann Christy (born Christianne Leenaerts, 22 September 1945, Antwerp – 7 August 1984, Meise) was a Belgian singer who enjoyed success in her native country and is best known internationally for her participation in the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest,  when "Gelukkig zijn" ("Being Happy") was chosen as Belgium's representative in the twentieth Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 March in Stockholm.

Christy was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1982, and died on 7 August 1984, aged 38.




2. Colleen Dewhurst



Colleen Rose Dewhurst (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress known most for theater roles  and for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O’Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. She was also renowned for her television work playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan TV movie adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables series and her reprisal of the role in the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea (marketed as just Avonlea in the US).

Diagnosed with cervical cancer, Colleen's fervent Christian Science beliefs led her to refuse any kind of surgical treatment. She died at age 67 at the pet-friendly South Salem, New York, farmhouse she shared with her companion (since 1974), producer Ken Marsolais on August 22, 1991. 



3. Gloria Ramirez



Gloria Ramirez (January 11, 1963 – February 19, 1994) was a Riverside, California, woman dubbed "the toxic lady" by the media when several Riverside General Hospital workers became ill after exposure to her body and blood. Her case was the basis for a scene in one episode of the American TV series The X-Files, an episode of the American TV drama Grey's Anatomy, a segment of a show on Discovery Communications' channel Investigation Discovery called "The New Detectives, a third season episode of Weird or What? and the "Stink Bomb" segment of the animated film Memories.

On  February 19, 1994, Ramirez was brought into the emergency room of Riverside General Hospital by paramedics, suffering from the effects of advanced cervical cancer.  At 8:50pm, after 45 minutes of CPR and defibrillation, Ramirez was pronounced dead from kidney failure related to her cancer.

4. Guylaine St. Onge

Guylaine St. Onge (1965 – March 3, 2005) was a Canadian actress.  

She was born in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. After working as a model and a dancer, she appeared in the Canadian television series Mount Royal. Parts in other television series, including Lonesome Dove and La Femme Nikita, followed.

She played the role of Juda in the television series Earth: Final Conflict. She also had a role in the movie Angel Eyes.

In 2005, she died of cervical cancer at the age of 39.

5. Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks (August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951) (sometimes erroneously called Henrietta Lakes, Helen Lane or Helen Larson) was an African-American woman who was the unwitting source of cells (from her cancerous tumor) which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create an immortal cell line for medical research. This is now known as the HeLa cell line.She died on October 04, 1951 due to Cervical Cancer.

The headstone, which is shaped like a book, reads:

"Henrietta Lacks, August 01, 1920-October 04, 1951.
In loving memory of a phenomenal woman, wife and mother who touched the lives of many.
Here lies Henrietta Lacks (HeLa). Her immortal

cells will continue to help mankind forever.  

Eternal Love and Admiration, From Your Family"



6. K.D. Wentworth


Kathy Diane Wentworth (January 27, 1951 – April 18, 2012), known as K. D. Wentworth, was an American science fiction author.

She served as the editor for the Writers of the Future Contest from 2009 until her death. One of her novelettes, "Kaleidoscope" (2008), and three of her short stories, "Burning Bright" (1997). "Tall One" (1998), and "Born Again" (2005) have been Nebula award finalists.

Wentworth died on April 18, 2012, from complications with pneumonia and cervical cancer.

Celebrities Who've Lost The Battle With Cervical Cancer  ( part I )


Cervical cancer is caused when cell in the cervix slowly become abnormal, or even through the sexually transmitted disease, HPV. Regular Pap smears are the best wear to detect cervical cancer. Here are the stories of some famous people who've faced the harsh effects of cervical cancer.



1. Eva Peron

The former first lady of Argentina, also know as Evita was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer in 1951. She kept a tight lid about her condition, telling everyone that it’s just a uterine problem. She died from the disease a year later at the age of 33.

Eva Peron nee Duarte was born on the 7th May 1919, illegitimately into a large impoverished family. 
At the age of 15 she left the countryside to become an actress in Buenos Aires and by the age of 26 she had married Col. Juan Peron who then became President of Argentina and Eva became one of the most powerful women on earth.When her death was announced on all radio stations, shops closed, restaurants, bars and cinemas emptied and national mourning began. A huge crowd gathered outside the presidential palace and eight people were killed in the crush, another 2,000 needed hospital treatment.


2. Yvette Wilson



Actress Yvette Wilson practically lost her battle with stage 4 cervical cancer in 2012, and on top of that, suffered kidney disease. According to data, it is reported that African American women are more likely to die from cervical cancer as they have more trouble cleaning HPV, which usually goes away on its own in a year or so. She lost the battle and passed in 2012 at the age of 48.

Wilson (March 6, 1964 - June 14, 2012) was an American comedian and actress. She was best known for her role as "Andell Wilkerson" on the UPN sitcom "Moesha" and its spinoff "The Parkers". She has appeared on many comedy films as "House Party 2", "House Party 3", "Friday" and on Russel Simmons' "Def Comedy Jam".



3. Jade Goody



Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 - 22 March 2009) was an English reality television personality. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the reality TV program Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programs and the launch of her own products after her eviction from the show. 

Goody had a number of health scares throughout the 2000s. In 2002, shortly before her Big Brother 3 appearance, she had a cervical smear test which revealed abnormal cells, a possible indicator of cancer. She was later tested for ovarian cancer in 2004 and bowel cancer in 2006, but was given the all-clear on each occasion. She underwent hospital tests in early August 2008 after her fourth cancer scare. She had already collapsed four times. The test results confirmed she had cervical cancer; she was told of this on 19 August 2008 while in the Indian version of Big Brother, called Bigg Boss. Her spokesperson said, "It looks like her cancer is at an early stage but we will have to wait until she gets back to Britain and sees a specialist and has more tests".

On 1 September 2008 it was reported that Goody's cancer was "advanced and life-threatening" and that she would be having an operation followed by chemotherapy. Doctors warned that her survival chance could be as low as 65%. Further tests, and a radical hysterectomy, "went well" according to her publicist, and Goody began a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

In an interview with Irish broadcasting company RTÉ she admitted having started planning her funeral. Furthermore, Goody told the broadcaster that she was losing all her hair and had decided not to explain her illness to her children.

On 4 February 2009 Max Clifford, Goody's publicist, confirmed that Goody's cancer had spread to her liver, bowel and groin. Therefore, the previous estimate of a 40% chance of survival was withdrawn and she underwent treatment to prolong her life. On 7 February, Clifford reported that Goody had undergone emergency surgery in London to remove a tumour on her bowel.

On 14 February, Clifford confirmed media reports that doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London had declared her cancer as terminal and that she could be dead within weeks, and at the most was unlikely to survive more than a few more months. He stated "She was informed yesterday that tragically, she's terminally ill. She was obviously devastated."Goody then began drawing up a will and making plans for the future care of her two sons.

On 5 March 2009, Goody requested to be christened from her bed at the Royal Marsden Hospital; on 7 March she and her sons were christened. Clifford confirmed that this would be Goody's last public appearance, and that she had already said her goodbyes to her family. He stated, "We're hoping and praying that Jade pulls through, but the fact of the matter is that she now only has a short time to live." He also confirmed that doctors had said the next 24 hours were crucial to assessing how long it will be before she dies, but that she had only a very short time left regardless. Her husband Jack Tweed was allowed to extend his curfew so he could spend a final night with his wife before she said her final goodbyes to her family.

When news broke that Goody's cancer was terminal, medical authorities in the UK began reporting a surge in requests from women, particularly younger women, for screening for cervical cancer. This reversed a trend which had seen demand for screening decline overall in the past decade, with the highest decline being among women aged 25–29.

As a result of the publicity surrounding Goody's illness, on 13 March 2009 government health ministers agreed to review the NHS's policy of not offering screening for cervical cancer until the age of 25 in England (it is 20 in the rest of the UK). Goody issued a press release the same day, saying that she was "immensely proud" that she had helped prompt the review.

Goody died in her sleep in the early hours of 22 March 2009. Her mother, Jackiey Budden, husband Jack Tweed and family friend Kevin Adams were by Goody's bedside when she died. Her death was widely covered by British media. 

4. Angelique Pettyjohn

Angelique Pettyjohn (11 March 1943 – 14 February 1992) was an American actress and burlesque queen. She is best known in show business for her appearance as the drill thrall Shahna in the Star Trek episode, "The Gamesters of Triskelion". 

Pettyjohn is probably best known for her guest appearances in various 1960s television shows. In addition to Star Trek, Pettyjohn appeared on Mister Terrific, The Green Hornet, Batman, Love, American Style, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., and as CONTROL agent in drag Charlie Watkins in the 1967 episodes of Get Smart titled "Smart Fit the Battle of Jericho," and "Pussycat Galore." During the 1970s, she worked as a burlesque star in Las Vegas.

On February 14, 1992, Pettyjohn died in Las Vegas, Nevada, of cervical cancer.


5. Anita Mui

Anita Mui Yim-fong (10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress. During her prime years she made major contributions to the cantopop music scene, while receiving numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout most of her career, and was generally regarded as a cantopop diva. Anita once held a sold-out concert at Hammersmith, London, England, where she was dubbed the "Madonna of Asia" and brought her to further international fame. That title has stayed with her throughout her career, and has been used as a comparison for both Eastern and Western media.

Her career brought to a halt in 2003 when Anita announced that she had cervical cancer, she passed on later that year at the age of 40. Anita left a considerable amount of music and film legacies as well as her involvement in charitable work and humanitarian causing the continuing reason for her commemoration by the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Hey Woman 

Tamar Eisenman & Asaf Avidan

            

Dee Standley: My battle with cervical cancer

When news of Kylie Minogue's breast cancer surgery was splashed on newspaper front pages all over the world four years ago, some breast cancer surgeons expressed concern that such blanket coverage might cause anxiety and even trigger cancer phobia. In the event, the impact was overwhelmingly positive. Within two weeks of Kylie's op, the number of women presenting for screening for the first time had risen by 40 per cent in the UK – and the numbers stayed high as the pop singer returned to glowing health.

Now, however, experts are anxiously assessing the likely impact of Jade Goody's high-profile experience of terminal cervical cancer and the Big Brother star's fund-raising plans to wed and then die in the public eye.

It couldn't be more crucial. With a persistent increase in rates of infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) that leads to cervical cancer, attendance for cervical screening is at an all-time low. Screening for this cancer saves hundreds of lives every year as long as women turn for screening. Yet last year a million women, more than one in five of those invited for screening, didn't bother keeping the appointment – with one in three of these in the 25 to 29 age group.

Certainly, the 27-year-old former dental nurse who has made headlines since her first appearance on Big Brother in 2002, has made cervical cancer public in an unprecedented manner. Coverage has been mixed. Early on, her diagnosis clearly got women's attention, with a 20 per cent increase in attendance at smear clinics reported in the weeks after the announcement. Yet the antagonism that had The Sun running a Big Brother campaign to "Get the Pig Out" in 2002, and which surrounded the racism row surrounding Goody's appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, has continued. Although Goody has plenty of supporters in the public eye and on the net, one website, called When Will Jade Goody Die?, offers an iPhone as a prize for predicting the date of her death, and a Facebook group appeared briefly, titled, Yay! Jade Goody has Cervical Cancer.

"I do hope her plight will encourage other women, but I fear it may not," says Dee Standley, director of the life-coaching group AspireNLP and herself a survivor of cervical cancer. "I would love there to be a positive spin on Goody's story, whatever happens to her. But I worry that it could have the effect of driving more women into denial about cancer."

At 37, Standley is 10 years older than Goody, but has had "frighteningly" similar experiences of cancer. Like Goody, who was admitted to hospital four times with unexplained pain and sent home with painkillers, Standley suffered unexplained illness in the run-up to her diagnosis. She on a US business trip in 2004 when she collapsed and was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. "I had everything going for me; the six-figure salary, the sports car and all the trappings. I was slim and athletic, I'd swim before work and then go to the gym in the evening. I was also travelling most weeks. And for all the glamour, my immune system was suddenly unable to cope."

For both women, the diagnosis, coming out of the blue, was a profound shock. Back in Britain, and as a senior IT sales consultant, Standley was on her way to a high-flying meeting with clients when she took the call from her specialist telling her to make an urgent appointment. "He told me they'd found the first stages of cervical cancer. I understood exactly how Goody must have felt when she was told about the diagnosis in the diary room of the Indian version of Big Brother. My world changed completely in a few seconds." The response to diagnosis was different. While Goody's focus seems to have been as much on selling her story to the media as on getting treatment, Standley gave her all to getting well. "From those first few minutes, I treated the cancer like a work project," she recalls. After meeting the clients "as though nothing had happened", she spoke to her most supportive friend over a coffee and bought the most inspirational book she could find abut recovering from cancer (Lance Armstrong's It's Not About The Bike, My Journey Back to Life) – which she read at home that evening.

Even so, there were several times during the treatment that Standley's prognosis seemed as bleak as Goody's has proved. After the first of three colposcopies – internal investigations that assess and treat the abnormal cells – Standley was told the cancer cells had penetrated the wall of her cervix into the neck of the womb. "It meant that I had to have very severe surgery, removing almost the whole of the neck of the cervix."

What really upsets Standley is that she knew so little about the disease. 'The lack of information about cervical cancer is terrifying. I'm sure it must have been the same for Jade. At school biology, we did photosynthesis and dissecting a rat but nothing about this frightening disease. As an adult, I was usually quite good about going for my smear but I wasn't obsessive about it – as I am now. I never once thought about what the smear was for and I don't think I'm unusual in not understanding what smears are all about."

It's this ignorance, Standley believes, that is behind the poor uptake of cervical screening. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. Otherwise, why would someone fail to do something that is so simple, costs nothing and could keep them alive?" Such a view is echoed by the campaigning charity Jo's Trust – set up by London businessman James Maxwell after his wife, Jo, died of cervical cancer aged 40, having failed to get "good information about every aspect of the disease, including its causes, treatment options and prognosis". Its new director, Robert Music, says information is more widely available today. "But it's not always accessible to women most at risk of cervical cancer – those of Goody's age who come from a deprived background and are poorly educated."

Other people's stories can be the best form of education, according to Dr Ann McPherson, co-founder of the charity DIPEx, which has published more than 10,000 video clips of people talking about 50 serious illness on the website www.healthtalk online.org since it was established in 2001. It is expanding its coverage of cervical cancer to include women like Goody and Standley who have had severely abnormal smears and would like anyone who has been through that diagnosis to get in touch.

"It doesn't matter that the stories are about celebrities or even whether they've got happy endings," says Dr McPherson. "When you are after the truth, you want the whole picture: and that includes the good and the bad news and the views of people from different backgrounds and with different coping strategies. That's what we provide in a manner that's medically endorsed."

Standley, now the proud mother of baby Findlay, born prematurely last June after a difficult pregnancy, is the ultimate example of a happy ending to cervical cancer. After the colposcopies and extensive surgery, Standley was given the all-clear in June 2006 and became pregnant in October 2007. 'After being told that I had virtually no chance of having a baby after the surgery, it was wonderful to find I was pregnant. I had to inject myself in the abdomen to keep my blood thin and I gave up on exercise to make sure I'd keep the baby. It was very difficult – especially as my partner left me before the baby was born. But I stayed positive, ate well and now I'm a blissfully happy mother with a new, healthier outlook on life. I would like to do whatever it takes to urge other women to make a priority of having a smear.'

Robert Music is hopeful that whatever the outcome for Goody, the overall impact will be positive. "Currently, she's a very unwell young woman focusing on her children's future rather than educating other people. We hope that she will work with an organisation such as ours to tell young women to turn up for cervical screening. That could be her lasting legacy," he says.

Cervical cancer: The facts

What causes cervical cancer?

In 99.7 per cent of cases, it is caused by persistent infection with human papillomavirus. HPV is a common virus transmitted through skin-to-skin contact in the genital area.

How common is it?

More than 2,800 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1,000 women die from the disease every year in the UK.

What happens in a smear test?

This is not a cancer test. It is to detect cell abnormalities at an early stage. Of those that are abnormal, the vast majority involve non-cancerous changes. Even when large abnormalities are found, there should be enough time to treat pre-cancerous cells before the disease takes hold.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/dee-standley-my-battle-with-cervical-cancer-1623693.html

Cervical cancer screening can save young women’s lives

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT HPV

Myth: I'm the only person I know with HPV

It's easy to understand why so many people hold this misunderstanding about HPV. After all, public awareness of the virus is extremely low. Most people who contact us with questions about HPV have never even heard of HPV until they were diagnosed.

Those struggling with this troubling condition or strange new diagnosis rarely discuss it with others, since it would seem unlikely that they would understand. And others--your second-best friend, your cousin, your co-worker, your neighbour across the street--likewise feel constrained to keep silent about their HPV, thinking that you wouldn't understand.

The net result is that very few people ever have the chance to place genital HPV in an accurate context, as the very common virus it really is. According to statistics, about 74 % of people--nearly three out of four--have been infected with genital HPV at some point in their lives. Among those ages (15-49), only one in four people has not had a genital HPV infection.

It's true that most often genital HPV produces no symptoms or illness, and so a person who has been infected may never know about it. Experts estimate that at any given time, only about 1% of all sexually active persons have visible genital warts. Far more women have abnormal Pap tests related to HPV infection, but in many cases health care providers do not explain the link between HPV and cervical infection, perpetuating the misunderstanding.

Myth: Only people who have casual sex get STIs

Even with billions of people contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) each year, many people continue to believe that only "someone else" - for example, people who have multiple partners, sex outside of marriage, or a different lifestyle - are at risk.

It is true that a higher number of sexual partners over the course of a lifetime does correlate with a higher risk for STIs, including HPV. This is not because of any moral judgment concerning "casual" sex as compared with "committed" sex, but simply because the more sexual partners you have, the more likely you will have a partner who (knowingly or unknowingly) is carrying an STI.

However, STIs can be passed along as readily in a loving, long-term relationship as in a one-night stand. And HPV is the virus to prove it. At least one study of middle-class, middle-aged women, most of them married with children, found that 21% were infected with cervical HPV. In other studies, according to Nancy Kiviat, MD, a researcher at the University of Washington, about 80% of people who have had as few as four sexual partners have been infected with HPV.

Myth: An HPV diagnosis means someone has cheated

This myth has been responsible for a great deal of anger, confusion, and heartache. It has led many people to tragically wrong conclusions because it fails to take into account one of the most mysterious aspects of genital HPV: its ability to lie latent.

The virus can remain in the body for weeks, years, or even a lifetime, giving no sign of its presence. Or a genital HPV infection may produce warts, lesions, or cervical abnormalities after a latent period of months or even years.

As mentioned above, most people who are infected with genital HPV never know it; their virus does not call attention to itself in any way. In most cases, a person is diagnosed with HPV only because some troubling symptom drove him or her to a health care professional, or some abnormality was revealed in the course of a routine exam.

But although careful examination can identify genital HPV infection, and laboratory tests may even narrow down the identification to a specific type among the two dozen or so that inhabit the genital tract, there is simply no way to find out how long a particular infection has been in place, or to trace it back to a particular partner.

In a monogamous relationship, therefore, just as in an affair or even in an interval of no sexual relationships at all, an HPV diagnosis means only that the person contracted an HPV infection at some point in his or her life.

Myth: Genital warts lead to cervical cancer

No one knows how many sleepless nights can be laid at the door of this myth. The truth, however, is that the fleshy growths we call genital warts are almost always benign. In the vast majority of cases, they do not lead to cancer, turn into cancer, or predispose a person toward developing cancer.

According to Katherine Stone, MD, genital warts need not "raise a red flag with regard to cancer in anyone's mind." There are more than 70 types of human papillomavirus, and most are quite specific in the sites they can invade and the pathology they can cause. Those most strongly associated with cancer are HPV types 16, 18, 31, 45, and, to a lesser degree, half a dozen others. These are known as the "high-risk" types, not because they usually or frequently cause cancer but because, in the infrequent event that cancer does develop, it can usually be traced back to one of these types. Even so, it bears repeating: most women with high-risk HPV on their cervix will not develop cervical cancer.

As for ordinary genital warts, says Doug Lowy, MD, chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, "These are caused by HPV types that are virtually never found in cancer." These are the "low-risk" types, 6, 11, 42, 43, and 44. When not causing genital warts they may cause a transient abnormality in Pap test results, or most often produce no symptoms at all.

In practical terms, a man with genital warts is no more likely than any other sexually active man to transmit cancer-causing HPV types to a partner. Experts do recommend that a woman exposed to genital warts - or any other STI - have regular Pap tests. This is because she may have been exposed to high-risk HPV types during unprotected sexual activity. Regular Pap tests are also recommended for any sexually active woman, since HPV infection is very common. It is worth keeping in mind that both men and women may be infected with, and infectious for, high-risk HPV, regardless of whether or not they have genital warts.

Myth: An abnormal Pap means a woman is at high risk for cervical cancer

First of all, an abnormal Pap test can be caused by factors other than the presence of a high-risk HPV type. When a Pap test comes back as "abnormal," it means just that: Under the microscope, the appearance of a few cells in this sample differs in some way from the classic appearance of healthy, intact cervical cells. The difference could be due to local irritation, a non-HPV infection, a low-risk HPV type, or even a mistake in the preparation of the cell sample.

To help sort out the various possibilities, a woman with an abnormal Pap test is often asked to come back to the doctor's office and have the test repeated. Most nonsignificant reasons for an abnormal result last only a short time, and so repeating the Pap test after a few months usually weeds these out. Even if the result is again abnormal, this rarely means that cancer is imminent. In an overwhelming majority of cases, a truly abnormal Pap test is due to pre-invasive disease, not invasive disease per se.

Follow-up tests such as colposcopy and biopsy can help evaluate the abnormality and remove any potentially malignant cells. If further treatment is recommended, the patient and her healthcare provider usually have several options to consider, and time in which to consider them.

What if a woman with a persistently abnormal Pap test does not receive treatment? This scenario is very unlikely in the developed countries, where the follow-up measures described above are standard practice. But even supposing that a woman went untreated after repeated abnormal Pap results, she still would have the odds on her side, because only one out of four cases of cervical lesions will progress to cancer if left on its own. And treatment is almost always successful in preventing cervical cancer if the abnormal cells are found in time.

But this very effective system of protection can work only when each woman takes responsibility for the first step herself, by having a Pap test at regular intervals. According to the National Cancer Institute, about half of women with newly diagnosed cervical cancer have never had a Pap test, and another 10% have not had a test in the past five years.

Myth: If I have warts or dysplasia, I will have recurrences for the rest of my life

Warts and dysplasia do recur (come back) in some cases, but by no means all. When they recur, they show varying persistence: Some people experience just one more episode and others several. The good news for most people is that with time, the immune system seems to take charge of the virus, making recurrences less frequent and often eliminating them entirely within about two years.

The limiting factor here is the state of the immune system itself. According to Thomas Sedlacek, MD, adjunct professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Allegheny University, if an individual's immune system is impaired - by the use of certain medications, by HIV infection, or by some temporary trauma such as excessive stress, serious illness, or surgery - it may be unable to prevent a recurrence. However, if the immune system is weakened only temporarily, most likely the recurrence will be short-lived.

The concern about life-long recurrences may be based on a misconception rather than a myth. It's true that at present there is no known cure for genital human papillomavirus. As a virus, it will remain in the infected person's cells for an indefinite time - most often in a latent state but occasionally producing symptoms or disease, as we have discussed elsewhere. Recent studies from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and from the University of Washington suggest that HPV may eventually be cleared, or rooted out altogether, in most people with well-functioning immune systems. However, in at least some cases the virus apparently does remain in the body indefinitely, able to produce symptoms if the immune system weakens.

Myth: Older women don't need Pap tests

Unfortunately, this myth is shared by many women and healthcare providers alike. Women who are past reproductive age may no longer visit a gynecologist, believing that they no longer need regular Paps. In many cases, no other provider recognizes the need for continued Pap screening. Data from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey indicate that one-half of all women age 60 and older have not had a Pap test in the past three years.

The result can be deadly: One in four cases of cervical cancer, and 41% of deaths, occur in women age 65 and older. Continued Paps may be recommended because HPV can recur even after years of latency.

However, according the guidelines published by the American Cancer Society in 2002, women age 70 and older may discontinue screening if they have 3 or more normal Pap tests, and no abnormal tests in the last 10 years.

What's best for you? Speak with your healthcare provider to see what is recommended, given your own medical history

Myth: Treatment of warts means they are no longer contagious

Medical opinion is not settled on this point. The closest to a consensus might be phrased as, "Don't be too sure."

Transmission of HPV poses a major challenge to researchers, not only because it involves sexual behaviour, which people may or may not feel free to talk about, but also because HPV's long and variable period of latency makes it virtually impossible to trace back to a specific partner. When considering the infectiousness of treated or untreated warts, therefore, researchers must fall back on indirect observations and on reasoning from what they do know about this virus. Some specialists think that removing genital warts may lower the risk of transmission, since it "de-bulks" the areas of tissue that contain infectious particles. But since the area surrounding any visible warts is also likely to contain infectious HPV particles, removing the warts cannot eliminate the risk.

A person may have good reasons for wanting his or her genital warts removed--they may be uncomfortable physically or psychologically. But removing warts cannot guarantee that the risk of transmission is removed.

Myth: A pregnant woman with genital warts is very likely to have a child with respiratory papillomatosis

This myth refers to a possibility that, during childbirth, the baby may contract the human papillomavirus while passing through the mother's HPV-infected birth canal. The risk is real but quite small, and has been associated with only two specific types of HPV: 6 and 11.

If a baby does contract HPV during birth, and if the infection persists, it may cause the child to develop lesions on the vocal cords that can interfere with breathing. This condition, known as respiratory papillomatosis, can be treated.

Delivery by cesarean section offers a baby some protection against HPV infection, but not a guarantee. Overall, the risk of respiratory papillomatosis for the baby is far smaller than the general risk of complications arising from a C-section. Pregnant women with genital warts should discuss the risks and options with their physician well before their due date and decide for themselves what they would like to do.

Myth: Lesbians don't need regular Pap tests

This myth is based on an overly simple view of how HPV can be transmitted. Certainly, penile-vaginal sex can pass the virus along from one partner to another, but HPV can be passed through other forms of skin-to-skin contact as well.

The most recent evidence for this comes from a study under way at the University of Washington, which has found a number of genital HPV infections among lesbian women--even in some women who had never had sex with a man. Genital HPV in lesbians has not yet been extensively studied, but researchers suspect the prevalence rates will be lower than among heterosexuals. Even so, the rates will not be low enough to rule out the risk of cervical cancer altogether, so a regularly scheduled Pap test is a smart health measure for gay and straight women alike.

Myth: If a woman has an abnormal Pap, her male partner should get an HPV test

Based on our experience with other infections, this would seem like a good idea. However, thus far there is no diagnostic test that can accurately determine whether a man is carrying an HPV infection. And even if he does, there is no way to treat him for the virus.

According to recent guidelines drafted by the CDC, "examination of sex partners is not necessary" as follow-up to an abnormal Pap test. It's certainly possible--even likely--that the partner is or has been infected with the virus, although highly unlikely that he will ever show any symptoms. Nor is it possible to determine whether he can spread HPV to a future partner.

However, if a woman has external genital warts, her partner may still consider scheduling a medical exam. It may be useful for a male partner to talk with a health care provider to gain more information. And of course, if a man starts to notice symptoms of his own, such as unexplained bumps or lesions in his genital area, he should get medical attention at once.

Myth: If I've always used condoms, I'm not at risk for HPV

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Used correctly, condoms are very effective against STIs such as gonorrhea and HIV that are spread through bodily fluids. However, they are likely to be less protective against STIs that spread through skin-to-skin contact, such as HPV and herpes. The reason is simply that condoms do not cover the entire genital area of either sex. They leave the vulva, anus, perineal area, base of the penis, and scrotum uncovered, and contact between these areas can transmit HPV.

That is not to say condoms are useless. In fact, studies have shown condom use can lower the risk of acquiring HPV infection and reduce the risk of HPV-related diseases, as well as help prevent other STs and unintended pregnancy. For these reasons, condoms should play an important part in any new or non-monogamous sexual relationship.

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