You see alot of commercials on TV about the HPV virus. Did you know it can be prevented? Cervical cancer is secondary to the HPV virus, which is a sexually transmitted disease. Sometimes the body can fight it off but most of the time it cant. I know as a woman, we hate those yearly exams. I'm here to tell you, do it anyway. I work for a hospice company, it case some of you didn't know. Its a tough field but I really only see the paper part of it. Anyway, there is a girl in her early twenties that is currently on service who has cervical cancer that has spread. She probably wont live another 6 months. That is heartbreaking. She had irregular bleeding that was persistent and it made her anemic. Her doctor didn't bother running further tests, he just chalked it up to the fact that she was sexually active. Well, by the time they actually detected it, it had spread. Now, there is nothing more she can do.
The last time I went to the doctor for my yearly exam, she asked me If I wanted a test to see if I was carrying the HPV virus. My response, heck ya!! With so many health risks out there, this is a disease that they can see whether your a carrier or not. Get screened by your doctor. Most STD's can be treated, some cant. HPV causes cervical cancer but it can be treated if its caught early enough. If you have an abnormal pap smear, then a conization is done. This is a biopsy of the cervix in which a cone-shaped sample of tissue is removed from the mucous membrane. Conization may be used either for diagnostic purposes, or for therapeutic purposes to remove pre-cancerous cells. Its a fairly simple procedure but if its not caught in time, further treatment is definitely necessary. From one woman to another, dont put it off. A few minutes of being uncomfortable is nothing compared to your life. Any cervical cancer survivors out there that wish to share their experience?