WE THE FUTURE - HPV BLOG
At seventeen years old, I often find myself inundated by public service announcements, advertisements and articles in pop culture teen magazines and television spots informing teens about the drug abuse, safe sex, teen pregnancy and AIDS. Thanks to all these efforts, I’m not getting AIDS, while getting pregnant, while getting high or getting other sexually transmitted diseases (LOL). Although I'm all for awareness regarding the above issues, there appears to be a huge missing link that harms a vast number of women that can potentially be avoided during the teenage years--human papillomavirus (also called HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI).
There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of females and males. Some other types of HPV, can cause cervical cancer. These types can also cause other, less common but serious cancers, including cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck (tongue, tonsils and throat).
Sadly, about 12,000 women get cervical cancer in the U.S. That's why it's so imperative to reach out to teenage girls about cervical cancer awareness. For instance, It's Your Sex Life (IYSL), an ongoing extension of MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Emmy and Peabody Award winning partnership and Get Yourself Tested (GYT) encourages young people to be educated about their sexual health. They're empowering "hip" programs directed toward young people. Additionally, Lifebeat: Music Fighting HIV is a nonprofit that uses the power of music and the music industry to help educate young people about HIV/AIDS prevention.
As a young woman, I love IYSL for its youthful, fresh outlook and educational information. But, considering IYSL is directed to the same demographic of teens and young adults who are also eligible for the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, why isn’t there information in a format that is cool, hip, educational and entertaining to empower teen girls on how they can possibly prevent cervical cancer by getting vaccinated?
It seems as though the HPV vaccine has been somewhat lost in the shadow of these other important health issues. On college campuses around America, you can get tested for AIDS and find information at your fingertips. Yet, information about the Gardasil vaccine is not readily available at the manicured fingernails of teenage girls of America.
The Gardasil vaccine is important for two different populations of tween, teen and young women who are sexually active and not yet active. Oddly enough, the best website for information about Gardasil and HPV isn’t the Gardasil website. Instead, Demand Media and the Lance Armstrong Foundation's LiveStrong.Com has a wealth of information.
As I mentioned before, HPV not only causes cervical cancer, but anal cancer as well. A study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that 90 percent of anal cancers are caused by HPV. For example, it's thought to have been the cause of Farrah Fawcett's anal cancer.
Marissa Jaret Winokor, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, and Gilda Radner, who is best known as a comedienne and actress in the original cast of Saturday Night Live, both battled cervical cancer. Most importantly, HPV effects ALL young women, who ALL deserve information that is "teen friendly" and easy to access. I say, "Bring it on!"
NOTE TO READER: It's SO important that you speak to your doctors about your personal health and whether the vaccine is appropriate for you. (Health is not a "one size fits all" type of thing!)
