The Dangers of Sexually Transmitted Diseases by Christine Honders

Author:Christine Honders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

Michelle had her first sexual experience at age 14, not realizing that sex put her at risk for getting HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer. “At such a young age we don’t know all the facts or consequences,” she said. “I can’t say who I got HPV from and it doesn’t matter, but I do know that at sixteen I went to the gynecologist for the first time, and at seventeen I had a second Pap test and had an abnormal Pap.”41

The Pap test checks for changes in the cells of the cervix, which is in the lower part of the uterus. Cells in the cervix may change from normal to precancerous and then to cancerous, and a Pap test is done to see if any changes are occurring. The abnormal cell growth can be caused by HPV.

Michelle was found to have abnormal cells in her cervix. To remove them, her cervix was frozen to kill the abnormal cells through cryosurgery. “After that they followed me pretty closely,” she said. “I had Pap tests every three months for a year, and then every six months for another year.”42

The Pap tests were done to screen for more abnormal cells, and after two years of normal Pap tests, she went back to having an annual screening. Then, at age 25, Michelle began to notice itching in her genitals. A biopsy showed that she had a precancerous condition of the vulva, a woman’s external genitals. The precancerous condition can be caused by HPV. To treat the condition, the abnormal cells were burned off of the vulva during laser surgery. “It was extremely painful,” Michelle says. “Today I know that the cell changes were the direct result of the HPV infection, but at the time I wasn’t educated enough to know that.”43

The next year, during a routine exam, she was tested for HPV and also had a Pap test to check for abnormal cells in her cervix. Although the Pap was normal, she tested positive for a type of HPV that is linked to cervical cancer. Additional exams and biopsies revealed that she had cervical cancer. Michelle researched her options and had surgery that would remove her cervix but still leave her with a chance of having children one day. The surgery was successful, and for two years, Michelle’s cancer went into remission.

Three days after her boyfriend proposed, however, Michelle had another checkup and learned that her battle with cancer was not over. The cancer had returned, and she would require more surgery. “I went from the highest high to the lowest low in the universe,”44 she said.

She knew she would need to undergo surgery and other treatments for her cancer. Still hoping to have children, she underwent a procedure that removed some of her eggs from her ovaries. Ten days after getting married, she had surgery to remove her uterus and other reproductive organs. To kill the cancerous cells, she also had radiation and chemotherapy.

The cancer treatment was not easy on Michelle. The chemotherapy made her feel nauseated, and it made her feel queasy just to smell food cooking.

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