I was working out this AM and was watching Good Morning America. They were talking about a HPV vaccination that would be tested out on teenage girls from 16-18 to see if this vaccination would help stop certain strands of HPV from occurring. I was a little taken aback when one of the reporters indicted there was a dislike among certain people that the vaccination would give teens the ideal that they can be sexually permicious and think they are cured from a STD. I really don't understand people who oppose this vaccination because it is helping so many sexually active people. I personally think it is a misunderstanding of HPV as to why others may be against the vaccination being available widespread.
I personally was diagnosed with HPV and was able to have it detected in the early stages before it became cervical cancer. When my OB/GYN told me I had HPV I thought I had herpes which, I think, is a strand of the HPV virus. At the time the nurse told me that it is like the common cold of STD. This did not make me feel comfortable at time she told me that because I did not a lot about know what HPV was.
After she saw my expression, she explained why it was the "common cold of STD"; she stated that it is a disease that women mainly catch that is carried by men. Men are not able to get the effect of HPV but women are for a number of reasons I can't remember. The nurse also stated that if it is caught early they can track it to make sure it does not get worse. She told me that if for some reason it did get worse they would go into the vagina and do a biopsy to remove the cells but she reassured me a lot of the time is just goes away
At the time I was told this the nurse and dr. stated there was not a cure but I still needed to have safe sex but that condoms do not protect from all strands of HPV and because of that I needed to have 2 annual checkups instead of one.
Knowing that any woman is subject to having HPV denying young women, who will be come adults, from getting vaccinated is just wrong because a lot of sexually active teenage girls do not have annual women wellness exams like the should . By having this possibly done helps curb the chance that a girl 17 ends up with cervical cancer or even an older woman as well.
Any case this is my two cents on that issue.
Friday, November 18, 2005
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1 comment:
I completely agree with you on this subject. I find myself noticing more and more the basics of human health are being denied to people on what I consider Christian fundamental beliefs (not to say of course that ALL Christians think this way or would feel this way, but the fundamentals that our society is being shaped on). It is absurd to even think of denying a vaccine to a potentially deadly disease (uhh...CANCER?) to young women simply because they choose to become sexually active. It's like the pharmacist denying the women her herpes medication because 'God was punishing her for her sin'. It makes me ill sometimes.
LM
http://lindseymitchell.typepad.com
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