Ignorance of Cervical Cancer is No Excuse

The HPV virus info is plain. An estimated 80% occurrence of anal cancer is associated with those who have HPV. Other links of HPV with cancer are those of tongue and tonsil cancer, and non-melanoma skin cancers in those persons who have compromised immune systems. 200,000 infants and children are diagnosed with papillomatosis which is a respiratory infection linked to HPV types 6 and 11.

But the most devastating statistic is that HPV causes 100% of all the cervical cancers. HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 are associated with cervical cancer. These high-risk viruses and are also linked to bladder, anus, and vulva cancer. 200,000 infants and children are diagnosed with papillomatosis, a respiratory infection linked with HPV types 6 and 11.

Although it is harder to diagnose the HPV virus in men as it is in females, males can also have HPV associated cancers as commonly as those found in women. Men contract the virus during sexual contact with an infected woman's vagina or anal area. Certain HPV viruses are known to have caused anal or penile cancers in men, although penile cancer is rare. Anal cancer rates connected with the HPV virus, as previously stated, are not rare at all.

Cervical dysplasia, while not cervical cancer, can indicate it's predecessor condition. Dysplasia most frequently goes through a regression over time, but can progress to invasive cervical cancer. Precisely why it regresses or progresses is unknown at this time. What is known is that women between the ages of 25 and 34 often have the regression, while women age fifty and older will progress to the invasive cancer of the cervix.

Prognosis for invasive cervical cancer depends on the disease's extent at time of diagnosis. Death rates for cervical cancer are high due; roughly 1/3 of women do not go for regular yearly Pap smears. Ignorance is no excuse to this virus.

Regular yearly Pap smears give women a better chance of diagnosing cervical cancer early enough to have a healthy outcome. Statistics tell us that up to 90% of cervical cancer deaths could have been avoided if earlier detection during Pap smears had occurred.