HPV--News to Worry About...by Lisa

I had HPV when I was 20 years old. It was a few months after my son was born, 26 years ago. I had an abnormal pap smear, no visible symptoms of any kind, and had to have a biopsy of my cervix, which showed HPV. The doctor used a laser to cauterize my cervix, and I have never had an abnormal pap smear since. Sounds like a happy ending, but thanks to advances in medicine, it opens a lot of questions now. I don’t know what strain of the virus I had—in fact I don’t even know if they identified the strains of the virus at that time, so I don’t know if I had one of the cancer-causing strains. The doctor I go to now is not the doctor that treated me then. My biggest concern at the moment is based on new information that has come out about anal cancer. I know, not a pleasant topic. Yes, its what Farrah Faucett died from. Here’s what is known now about anal cancer:

            -90% of anal cancer is caused by HPV

            -you can get HPV-associated anal cancer even if you never had anal sex (so much for avoiding certain behaviors, it doesn't matter!)

Risk factors for anal cancer include:

            -Age greater than 50 years

            -A history of having many sexual partners (many isn’t defined, wouldn’t you know)

            -Having anal sex (whether you are male or female)

            -HPV, of course

            -Smoking

            -Drugs or conditions that suppress the immune system

Symptoms of anal cancer are similar to the symptoms of hemorrhoids, so people don’t always get checked. Symptoms can include bleeding from the anus, pain in that area, or a mass in that area. I know its embarrassing, but if you need to, go get checked please.

So what can be done about the risks, and this newfound information? One of the problems is that we don’t routinely get screened for anal cancer. If you have risk factors or you feel concerned about it, talk to your doctor—I know I’m going to, in fact, this might be the motivation I need to get a new doctor. I’m going to ask if there is a way to find out which strain I had, and what my risk of this type of cancer is now, and what I need to be doing to get screened, if that’s indicted. And lastly, and most important, is that I am now going to get my daughter vaccinated against HPV. I was on the fence about it, but no longer. She’ll have other more important things to worry about.