Are you concerned with STDs?

[wolfmaiden]

I am wondering if anyone is concerned with getting a STD???? The one I would be concerned with most is HPV. I was reading that even if you use a condom you still can be exposed to the HPV virus which causes genital warts. A large percentage of the population has HPV which is linked to cancer of the cervix for women. Alot of people have the virus but do not have the signs. In turn the carrier can infect another person. It is scary because it can also show up in a mammmagram as a lump which is than biopsied to see if it is cancer.
So what is one take on this type of STD and your lifestyle????

[Elusive BiFem]

Wolfmaiden, there have been numerous threads on STD's and HPV in particular. If you will use the search feature at the top of the board and type in HPV, you'll locate a bunch of information. Also...something most of us miss sometimes...scroll to the very bottom of this and you will find several threads that are linked to your topic. That's an interesting feature of this new board Julie has put together.

Now...as for the mammogram thing...what do you mean? HPV showing up on mammogram? I'm confused. Yes, lumps can show up on mammogram, but those are lumps in the breast. The mammogram is essentially, an x-ray image of the breast. HPV would not show up on a mammogram. Again, I'm confused...what did you mean by the thing about mammos? - EBF

[shygirl0305]

This has been a topic of recent research of mine...here's what I found out and did so by finding the SAME piece of information from a variety of different sources.

As for HPV ...

There are approximately 120 variations of this virus.

Of those 120 approx. 33 affect the genital region.

The other 90 or so cause PLAIN warts found on the hands, feet and other parts of the body (plantars warts are a form of HPV). With this fact in mind you can see why statisticly a large portion of the population has been exposed to SOME KIND of HPV.

Of the approx. 33 that affect the genital region 3 of those can cause cancer not limited to the cervix (but cancer in places other than cervix is RARE).

Now if the concern is that of cancer (which was mine in another thread) the fact of the matter is that if you are getting routine check ups with your doctor and are honest with them about your lifestyle than the chances of you finding anything before it becomes serious is VERY LIKELY.

HPV is a virus, like HSV, HIV, Chicken pox, and the flu. We have not figured out how to CURE viruses. We can develope antibodies that match the virus and thus keep it from making us sick. But there is no cure for a virus.

I have read in a few places that with regard to HPV - "you could consider yourself cured with no reoccurances for more than 2-3 years." But I asked a doctor about this and I was told that statement is in reference to oneself. That by year 2-3 your body will have developed an antibody for the virus but that does not mean you are not a carrier of it.

Above is the part I get confused about. I don't totally understand. If you get the HPV virus and after however much time you never have any problems - you are still a carrier right? Any sexual contact would pass it yes? With the antibodies? I felt like that statement (quoted above) was misleading.

There is much I still do not understand.

[wolfmaiden]

A woman at work had a bad mammagram. They tested the tumor and it happened to be the HPV virus. After all the reading I have done on HPV I did not know that HPV can go into the breast area. I have contracted HPV from my ex-husband in the past. It showed up on the cervix where I had a leep proceedure (spl?) done. My pap tests have been normal for 5 years. I have read that the virus stays with you. I am so confused about this also. I am curious and wonder if most of our cancers could be related to HPV???? Why are they in process of finding a vaccine against it????

[Elusive BiFem]

Thanks for writing back Wolfmaiden. First, let me say that GYN stuff is definitely NOT my area of expertise - not by any stretch. And as for viruses...there is an entire group of people that do nothing but study those critters! That's my disclaimer...

Now...as for HPV showing up in a breast tumor...I looked everywhere and under everything I could think of and didn't come up with anything definitive. The closest I came in finding anything that I would consider reliable was this statement:

HPV comprise a family of viruses that are often transmitted through sexual contact. While HPVs can cause genital warts, certain strains of the virus are known to induce cervical, vulvar and anal cancers, and are implicated in the development of other cancers including those to the head and neck. HPV is present in more than 9 of ten cases of all cervical cancers.

Now...researchers are finding out new things every day - it's absolutely impossible to keep up with stuff, but take note of the word "implicated" in the above quote. Therefore, I wouldn't discount entirely what you are saying, but I think there is possibly more to the situation than you are aware of. With all of the research into breast cancers, I think something that extraordinary would have made headlines. They say that up to 80% of the population carries HPV. If that is the case, massive numbers of women and men would be highly susceptible or at risk for breast Ca. The other thing that crosses my mind...although breast Ca does occur in men, it is with relative infrequency.

Now...one thing I'm wondering about in terms of your friend. All cancers have primary sites, although these are sometimes unidentified. Certain cancers commonly metastasize to specific sites. I don't recall the specifics, but it has something to do with the germ layers that are formed as the fetus develops very early on. For example, breast Ca commonly metastasizes to the bones. The bone Ca isn't actually bone Ca as we think of it, but is metastatic bone Ca and known as a secondary site. So...what I'm wondering...since cervical Ca is common with HPV, did your friend have cervical Ca and if so, was the breast tumor a secondary site stemming from that particular Ca?
I'd be most interested in knowing if you get more information.

I don't think that most of our cancers are related to the HPV virus specifically, but I think you are definitely on target in thinking that many cancers are, indeed, related to viruses - discovered and undiscovered.

Now...what did you mean by this...

Why are they in process of finding a vaccine against it????

Did you mean why aren't they in the process....

And FYI...you aren't the only one confused by all of this stuff. Me, too. Way too much for my brain.

- EBF

[ALilOEverything]

I did find a few links that discussed hpv and breast ca, here's one link:

http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/asofhpvbreas.html

And why do they want the vaccine for HPV? Anything to prevent cancer is a good thing. There is a lot of information on the web about the vaccine they are coming out with. Here's one link that discuss it:

http://womens-health.jwatch.org/cgi/...ull/2003/108/1

[Elusive BiFem]

Originally Posted by ALilOEverything

I did find a few links that discussed hpv and breast ca, here's one link:

http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/asofhpvbreas.html

And why do they want the vaccine for HPV? Anything to prevent cancer is a good thing. There is a lot of information on the web about the vaccine they are coming out with. Here's one link that discuss it:

http://womens-health.jwatch.org/cgi/...ull/2003/108/1

Thanks, AlilO! I did find that when I was looking, but discounted the information as unreliable (at this time) due to this last comment:

Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training.

Therefore, I didn't assign any validity to it. What do you think? As for the train of thought - the link between HPV and breast Ca...I suspect there might be some research dealing with it somewhere, given the amount of research into viruses in general. Wolfmaiden raised some really interesting questions.

We need to get Janet of BradandJanet in on this discussion. She's sharp as a tack when it comes to this kind of stuff. - EBF

PS: You really need to come to Tulsa in November....

[wolfmaiden]

I have read that they are (scientists) trying to find a vaccine for HPV. I find it interesting because there might be a link to HPV and some cancers. I have read alot of different issues on cancer and HPV. Some of the stuff I have read said HPV can be transmitted from mother to infant and other web sites say no. So I have no clue what to believe. My thoughts are it is a possiblity that some infants are infected with the HPV when born and it depends on the anti bodies level to become immune to the HPV.
In the past I also have read that stress can cause cancer. Chronic stress lowers ones immunity level so that would go hand in hand with HPV and cancer.
I am just curious to find out that if HPV and cancer are the same thing.

[Elusive BiFem]

Originally Posted by wolfmaiden

In the past I also have read that stress can cause cancer. Chronic stress lowers ones immunity level so that would go hand in hand with HPV and cancer.
I am just curious to find out that if HPV and cancer are the same thing.

I think I can very safely say that HPV and cancer are not the same thing.

However, you are very correct about stress lowering ones immunity level. When that occurs, we are all very susceptible to all sorts of things, and our risk, including the risk for certain types of cancers, increases. If you think of the common cold, caused by a virus...when you are in excellent shape, happy, everything in the world is just peachy keen...your risk of catching a cold is lowered, and if you do, you shake it off real quick. However, if you have a lot of emotional stress going on, you haven't been eating right, not getting enough sleep...all those sorts of things - you'll catch a cold real quick. The other thing to keep in mind is that sometimes when they talk about stress, they are talking about emotional stress - worries, cares, concerns, and other times, they are talking about physical stress or stress on the body, such as illness, surgery, injury. Both of those types of stresses effect the body in different ways, but different body chemicals rise in response to the stress no matter what type of stress one is experiencing. It is those fluctuations in body chemicals, such as cortisol, that can cause a decrease in immunity. Also, the absence of certain nutritional elements - folic acid - is linked to to certain types of cancers.

It's all very interesting, and very, very complex. Do a google search on stress hormones and folic acid. You might be interested.

But please remember...all of this stuff is nothing more than little tiny bits of a gigantic puzzle. Some is well established fact, other is in the infancy stages of research with much more to be learned. - EBF

Wow, Wolfmaiden! You are really doing some thinking today! Making me think, too.

[ALilOEverything]

The site posting the abstract put that in there for a disclaimer, the research I believe is valid research, I had an article number from the medical journal it was published in for it but I'm having a hard time duplicating my search. I thought it was interesting just because I never would have even considered the connection before.

[Elusive BiFem]

Me either - would not have considered the connection - until Wolfmaiden brought all this up. Interesting, isn't it. If you find the journal, please post or send me the link. I'd like to know more about it. What I did get out of it was that it was based on some alternative medicine practices, some of which have validity (and more so we are coming to learn [thinking of prayer, touch, etc.] and others that hold no validity (apricot pits! )Thanks!

- EBF

[BradAndJanet]

I'll see what Janet knows and also promise to look this up at work on Monday. I have access to all sorts of research databases there...

-B

[Elusive BiFem]

Originally Posted by BradAndJanet

I'll see what Janet knows and also promise to look this up at work on Monday. I have access to all sorts of research databases there...

-B

Man! That would be super. Wolfmaiden really got me interested in this. I've read all kinds of stuff today - much of which was far too complex for my understanding. I did find some sort of questionable link between some strain of HPV and breast Ca but it was old research from 2000 and I couldn't find anything more recent.

Thanks! - EBF

[Rett]

Thanks Wolfmaiden, and also EBF, this is a revealing and interesting topic of which more should be known. I also did a search and found articles which attempt to answer the relationships betweem HIV and cancer.

The first site discusses breast and cervical cancer and how high levels of folic acid provide some protection.

HPV and Folic Acid

HPV Facts

HPV and Oral Cancer

Health Science Report
( this one loads slowly)

STD Basics

[wolfmaiden]

You know alot of the articles I have read dealing with cancer and HPV says to stop smoking. Smoking actually puts more stress on the body which also lowers your resistance in which your body can become sick.
I am curious about how HPV and cancer are related when it is in the gene pool. I am wondering if HPV is handed down to generations and that the research scientists have not figured it out yet.