"Knowledge is Power"

I was 17 when I was diagnosed with HPV. I got it from my boyfriend-the boy I had lost my virginity to about 2 months earlier. When the doctor told me that my Pap was abnormal at my very first screening, I was really confused. He explained that I had high risk HPV. I had no idea what that meant, but I immediately freaked out and told him that it was impossible that I had anything because I only had 1 partner, he had been tested for everything, and I ALWAYS used a condom.

He explained that

1. HPV can be spread whether a condom was used or not,
2. Typically when a guy goes into a doctor and says "I'd like to be tested" they don't test for HPV since it is a very painful test for a guy.

The doctor also acted like it was not a big deal and that I would just need to come in every 4 months to have a biopsy and he handed me a pamphlet and I was on my way. For the next few weeks I cried all the time. I wouldn't tell anyone. I thought I was going to die and that I was a bad person and that I was a slut. "What are people going to think of me!?" I kept thinking. "I'm never going to be able to be with anyone else in my life because I won't be able to tell them." But then I began doing research on HPV. I went back to my doctor just to ask questions. When I found out that almost 50% of sexually active people in my age group have HPV I was SHOCKED! How come in health class in school they grouped HPV in with HIV and Herpes? I demanded answers. I was no longer ashamed and I felt like I needed to tell everyone about this.
Since High risk HPV can lead to cervical cancer, my doctor explained to me that by coming in every 4 months, he can watch the cell growth and if it begins to change he can catch it before it become cervical cancer.
If I, like many girls my age, never went to the OBGYN and got a PAP I would have NEVER known that I had HPV since I have no symptoms. I have made it my goal to personally spread the word to my friends, family, sisters, and loved ones about HPV and how important it is to just go to the doctor and get tested.
It's not the end of the world if you have it, but if you do, and you're doctor's aware of it, you can both stop cervical cancer before it starts. I've been told by many that this is too taboo a subject to be talking about, but that is my point. A major reason that many women go undiagnosed is because we won't talk about it and spread the word. So please, tell every woman you know to just go to the doctor and get tested.

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