HPV has even made its way into popular culture. In the first
season of the controversial HBO series Girls, for example, lead
character Hannah discovered that she had HPV and confronted her current
boyfriend. Said boyfriend declared that she could not have contracted
the virus from him because he had been tested and did not have it, and
millions of women around the U.S. simultaneously yelled at their
televisions. Viewers knew, even if Hannah didn't, that there is no test
to diagnose HPV in men.
The HPV Vaccine
Prior
to a few years ago, the only protection women had from contracting HPV
was to limit their s,xual partners and use cndoms during every
encounter. Even those precautions only helped a bit, though. Women who
did both of those things very effectively still contracted HPV - even
while using a condm, and even with their very first partners.
Young
women today, though, have a much more reliable alternative: the HPV
vaccine. OB/GYNs recommend vaccination for women before they become
sxually active, so that they are protected from future cervical cancer
risk.
Women Who Already Have HPV
Of course,
the vaccine came too late for many women who already had HPV. For those
women, the best hope is early detection via regular Pap smears.
OB/GYNs
can detect cervical cancer in what's known as the precancerous stage.
In other words, cells begin to show abnormal characteristics long before
they develop into full-blown cervical cancer. In these cases, women may
have the abnormal cells removed via a number of outpatient procedures
that create minimal discomfort and very little recovery time.
Of
course, removal of the abnormal cells does not treat the virus. Once a
woman has HPV, she will always have it, and will need to keep up with
her annual OB/GYN visits to watch for a recurrence of the abnormalities.
Cervical Cancer Treatment
If
abnormal cells go undiagnosed for too long, they may turn into
full-blown cervical cancer. When this happens, treatment becomes much
the same as with other forms of cancer. Cancerous cells need to be
removed (resulting in the loss of fertility for some women) and if the
cancer has reached a more serious level, radiation treatment may be
required.
There really is no way to predict the kind of treatment a
woman will need for cervical cancer until there is a specific diagnosis
and medical tests are performed. As with any cancer, the treatment will
depend on how advanced the disease is when it is discovered.
Prevention and Early Detection are the Keys
Waiting
for symptoms is a dangerous path, since they generally do not show up
until the disease has become very advanced. That's why the HPV vaccine
and regular OB/GYN exams offer the best hope for women in combating
cervical cancer.