CancerCompass message board discussion started by scaredinFL on 2/15/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20984,0.htm Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ okay so here is my story...I am 39 about to turn 40, I had a full hysterectomy about 4 years ago, due to family history of ovarian cancer (my Mom), she many years later developed cancer of the vaginal wall.  Well I went to the doctors in November and had an abnormal pap smear, they then did a copo (which by the way hurt like heck). The copo was done at the end of January.  I went to the  doctors today and got the results from my copo which is when I was told that I have HPV with Mild dysplasia & genital warts.  The doctor suggested having surgery to remove the warts as they can develop into cancer.  Well I do not have health insurance so I can not afford the surgery, and he also told me that it does not guarantee that they won't come back.I told my boyfriend whom I live with, for almost a year now, what the doctor said.  He is very supportive and I am afraid that I may have given him these things.  How would I know if I did?  Is there a test he can have done to find out? Please pray for healing, cause I am so freaked out right now it is not even funny.  I had the hysterectomy to prevent cancer and now I am facing this possibility!To all others with similar, I pray for your healing also and peace of mind!  scaredinFL Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 2/15/2008 scaredinFL wrote:okay so here is my story...I am 39 about to turn 40, I had a full hysterectomy about 4 years ago, due to family history of ovarian cancer (my Mom), she many years later developed cancer of the vaginal wall.  Well I went to the doctors in November and had an abnormal pap smear, they then did a copo (which by the way hurt like heck). The copo was done at the end of January.  I went to the  doctors today and got the results from my copo which is when I was told that I have HPV with Mild dysplasia & genital warts.  The doctor suggested having surgery to remove the warts as they can develop into cancer.  Well I do not have health insurance so I can not afford the surgery, and he also told me that it does not guarantee that they won't come back.I told my boyfriend whom I live with, for almost a year now, what the doctor said.  He is very supportive and I am afraid that I may have given him these things.  How would I know if I did?  Is there a test he can have done to find out? Please pray for healing, cause I am so freaked out right now it is not even funny.  I had the hysterectomy to prevent cancer and now I am facing this possibility!To all others with similar, I pray for your healing also and peace of mind! Well first off I just want you to know that you are not alone in this at all. About 80% of the population have HPV. I was diagnosed with it in 2003. Thankfully I haven't had any problems with genital worts, but it did take me several years for the virus to exit my system. I also wanted to make sure you know that it is not your fault. HPV is something that doesn't show. It stays hidden and many people go without even knowing they have it. I contracted it from my boyfriend at the time whom I learned from his mother that his ex-girlfriend had it. So it is very possible that he may have given it to you if it hasn't shown up before. So yes he can have it and there are ways to check him out as well. I'm not sure exactly what they do, but I would call your doctor and ask them. It doesn't affect men the same way it does women. It is usually just carried by them. Typically the only way they would know if they had it is if they had worts show up themselves. Have you inspected him for them? I know it can be uncomfortable, but if he's ok with it the two of you should definately take the time to do that. If you're not sure exactly what they look like you can go online and google the images. They may be a little graphic, but it will show you what you are looking for. In the meantime call your family doctor and make an appointment for him. Because HPV is a virus there is nothing you can do about it. It just has to run through your system, however, if you have a really bad case of it I know that they have some drugs out there to help with symptoms. I know how scarey this is. Believe you me...the day I found out I had HPV I was totally freaked out. But now I have had 2-3 normal paps and am very excited about that!!!! I hope I have helped a little. Feel free to ask anything you need to!! It's nice to talk with someone with the same problems;) -Kristen kristenL83 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT My husband had stage 3 tonsil cancer (caused by HPV) last year.  Ihave been tested and came up clean, but remember that 90% of thepopulation has been exposed to HPV and in most cases our systems canflush the HPV out in about 3 years.  Everyone seems to think thatmen won't get cancer from HPV.  They're wrong.  It's raremind you...but it does happen.  I don't know if I gave it to himat some point or if he got it from someone else, but to me it doesn'tmatter..and you can be faithful and still have it.  They stilldon't have all the answers for how HPV can be passed on from one personto the next.  Sexual contact, sure, but now they're saying itcould be passed on via a public toilet seat.  They still don'tknow.  And there is no test for HPV for men at this point, justthe testing of a tumor. Mattnmiami Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://cancer.about.com/od/hpv/f/HPVtoiletseat.htm  Question: HPV and Toilet SeatsA friend of mine told me that you can catch HPV from a toilet seat. Is this true?Answer: Fortunately, this is a myth, but still remains a common belief among many people. The human pappillomavirus (HPV) cannot be transmitted through sitting on a toilet seat. Because viruses cannot survive long outside of the body, HPV cannot be transmitted this way. lorilocks Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT I found out a year ago I have HPV and it hasn't cleared up. On Monday I had a leep, which was very painful.  I am horrified and freaked out what the future holds. I am 32 and still want to have children, I can't stop crying about things.  I know I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, but I have no one to talk to, other than my boyfrien, I don't want any of my friends or family to know.  I look back now on not always using protection, but the men I have been with have been minimal and always in a serious relationship.  I got HPV from my current boyfriend, and a part of me is furious at him.  I try not to let it show, but my emotions are all over the place.  olgirl Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 5/14/2008 olgirl wrote:I found out a year ago I have HPV and it hasn't cleared up. On Monday I had a leep, which was very painful.  I am horrified and freaked out what the future holds. I am 32 and still want to have children, I can't stop crying about things.  I know I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, but I have no one to talk to, other than my boyfrien, I don't want any of my friends or family to know.  I look back now on not always using protection, but the men I have been with have been minimal and always in a serious relationship.  I got HPV from my current boyfriend, and a part of me is furious at him.  I try not to let it show, but my emotions are all over the place. Please don't beat yourself up about it. 80% of women will have come in contact and contracted the HPV virus, whether they used protection or not. Sadly it is one of those sneaky viruses that most of us don't even know we have. Some manage to fight it and some don't. It can take up to 2-3years. Also there are over a 100 different strains. So even though your partner may have it, it doesn't necessarily mean you have the same strain. It is usually the strain that does not involve warts, that cause the CIN etc. The most common ones being 16 and 18. I understand you wanting to keep it to yourself, but remember the statistics. Sadly, too many of us feel the stigma attached to HPV, and it prevents us from talking openly about it. This probably doesn't help the stigma. The vaccination for cervical cancer, is actually for HPV, but they don't mention it in the ads. Very sad, cause so many women don't even realise it causes most of the Cancers of the cervix. If you want to talk about it, make sure you include the statistics. Even a woman who has had just one partner her whole life can still be infected with HPV if her partner was active prior to their relationship. Smoking can accelerate the cell changes, so stop if you are a smoker. This is very relevant. Plus, stress does not help your body to fight. So find anyway to relax. Tell yourself you are healing everyday. Take a course of multivitamins, eat healthy and exercise.You will still be able to have children, I have. So don't let this cause you stress. Focus on now, and you. Make sure you keep all of your follow up appointments too. Take care, and be strong. Mandy  tuscan Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT