Dear Everyone,
My name is Karen , I am 48 years old. I am also an Executive at
a media company. I make over $100,000 per year and I have HPV related Anal Cancer. I've told my work, I've told my friends, I've told my family and I've told my daughter. In fact..I've told all of you and I will not stop telling..nor will I be ashamed for one second about who I am or what "type" of cancer I have.
Why is this so important? Because, we as women with an HPV related cancer are being mis-informed or simply not informed at all. The problem is that there has been a great deal of cervical cancer in the past...so that grandmother that died 15 years ago from cervical cancer proably died because she had HPV. The PAP Smear was developed to test for HPV..if you look up the meaning for PAP it is a test for Papanicolaou...which detects Human Papilloma Virus...which has caused the cells in the cervix or in the anus to become atypical.
Because we do now have widespread screening (PAP Smear) for Atypical Squamous Cell of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and Low Grade quamous intraepithelial lesions (LGISIL) the incidence of cervical cancer has declined by 75% Yet this year alone 12,900 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed. Imagine if this was before the PAP Smear..this number would be 51,600 new cases of cervical cancer.
HPV Virus is an opportunitistic infection and it presents as atypical cells in mucus membranes ...the cervix, vagina, anus, mouth and throat. And for most of us it doesn't really matter what caused our cancer. What is important is can it be treated effectively? Can I be cured?
But what we are doing is a disservice to ourselevs and to others. Why.. because in keeping silent about HPV we can almost assure ourselves that our children will get it and their children too and on and on. Not because they "Got It" from us...but because we got it and did not tell someone or even them..our own children. Why..because we were too mbarrased to say it or even think we could have gotten a STD. And our doctors don't help either...they just help us perpetuate the lie by their not telling us the truth.
The fact is that HPV Virus is the NUMBER 1 STD among young teens and young adults. The fact is, that 8 out of 10 people will have or have had HPV Virus infection. So by our not finding out the truth or by us hiding it or by us just ignoring it..nothing gets done to protect our children or others who may be at risk...no vaccine gets developed..no one cares..we'll just treat it symtomatically.. we'll paint those warts with acid or must likely we'll never even see a wart or will our children or our friends...they'll just never know they had it either...unless they're like us and develop cancer.
You know...Cervical, Anal and Vaginal cancer has a protocol. Doctors know how to treat it by the Stage it's diagnosed in. Hell...why worry about the why of getting it when there's a treatment protocol to follow..simply follow the treatment plan and it will eventually, hopefully go away. But for 4,400 of us this year..it's not going away..we are, because we will die from it. And that IT, is Cancer Caused by HPV Virus And when those 4,400 are dead and buried who will care that HPV is still alive in the world? That HPV is being swept under the carpet.
Not all HPV infections turn into cancer...in fact, Most do Not! But we are the ones in which it did turn into cancer...why did it? What about us is so different from the hundreds of thousands each year that get infected with HPV and it simply gets handled by the immune system... walla its gone. Will what caused us to get it, also be a part of the genetic make-up of our children? That's what keeps me awake at night..thinking that what ever was that switch in me..that made me susceptible to HPV...an HPV Virus my immune system could not or did not handle...does my daughter have this same problem? Will she have this problem?
AAOk..I've said more than enough. My name is Karen Angell-Cole and I an going to die from HPV related Anal Cancer..I don't want my children to have to face this nor do I want their children to face this...so I am SCREAMING PAY ATTENTION! HPV Virus is something each of us can do something about...but first open up your minds and your hearts and let it in. Find out all you can about it...do it now before one more person dies froman HPV related cancer. Please I need your help.
Karen
PS: If you want to help rasie awareness of HPV Virus the simply e-mail me directly and I will tell you how you can help.
THANK YOU |
