I Want To Be "1" Less

With over six million new cases, Human Papoillmavirus is a big concern

Story and photo by Myasia C. Butler

You wait so long for this moment. All your friends share their stories about their first time and now you finally get to tell yours, only to find out that 60 seconds of pleasure lead you to a lifetime of pain.  Shakia Rollock, a Clinton Community College student is one of the unfortunate females that could not become “one less” infected by the Human Papoillomavirus (HPV).

HPV is one of the most commonly sexually transmitted infections that infects the skin and mucous membranes. There are over 40 different strands of the virus in all. Three types cause cervical cancer, and two of the strands cause genital warts. All the HPV types affect the genital area and can cause an abnormal pap smear.

"Once you have it (HPV), you have it. You can get over one strand but you can still get another strand"

“I had no symptoms,” Rollock says. “No pain, no discharge. I went to the doctor's for my annual check-up and my pap smear can back abnormal. I didn’t understand what it meant. I automatically thought I had cervical cancer.”

Like Rollock, Clinton County resident Cassandra Cruz also did not have any symptoms.  “I found out I was infected with HPV in 2006 when I learned I was pregnant,” Cruz says. “I didn’t have any symptoms. My white blood cell count came back high. And then they did a pap smear, and it was abnormal.”

Cruz later had to undergo several tests, including a colposcopy to remove the cancerous cells that were on her cervix. A colposcopy is when a gynecologist uses a microscope to look at the cervix.  Cruz is still undergoing these procedures, a process she describes as “very painful.” She says she has to continue going through these procedures until physicians are sure the HPV is completely gone.

"I had no symptoms. No pain, no discharge. Anything. I went to the doctor's for my annual check-up, and my pap smear can back abnormal"

“Once you have it (HPV), you have it. You can get over one strand but you can still get another strand,” says Martha Stahl, Director of External Affairs for Planned Parenthood.

Identifying HPV symptoms can be tricky, as the symptoms depend on the strand of the virus that has been contracted. The most common symptom is genital warts. In very rare cases, however, the warts aren’t always visible.  

The HPV rates in Clinton County are not available for public reportage, so residents don’t know if the disease is attacking the community. In general, though, HPV is an alarming disease with more than six million new cases occurring in the United States every year.  According to Centers for Disease Control statistics, 74 percent of these cases involve individuals between the ages of 15 and 24.

“There is no treatment for the virus, but a healthy immune system can fight off the virus,” says Martha Rose, a nurse at the SUNY Plattsburgh Health Center. Rose says the pap smears are very important. One way that women can protect themselves is by getting the vaccine Gardasil.

According to the CDC, Gardasil helps guard against diseases that are caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18. “We administer the shot on campus, but students have to buy the vaccine from Wal-Mart for about $70 to $80,” says Rose.

Residents can also go to Planned Parenthood and get the shot where it is offered for free. The shot is recommended for women ages 9 to 26. The best way one can protect themselves from HPV is by practicing abstinence. 

While both Rollock and Cruz have been infected by this virus, they say they refuse to let the disease rule their lives. “I go about my life normal,” says Rollock. “I just know that I have to always practice safe sex and continuously get my pap smear to make sure that everything is alright.”

What do you know about HPV?