Whether they know that they have it or not is another issue, and an issue that's become increasingly important to identify, as a potentially deadly strain makes it's way to more women, who are susceptible to a deadly cancer when the virus goes untreated.



The virus has at least 100 known strains, 30 of which are sexually transmitted. New commercials sponsored by the CDC are spreading the word for women to get checked for HPV, in an effort to reduce the risk of contracting cervical cancer from untreated HPV, which can cause cancer when untreated due to abnormal cell formation in the cervical area.

Most forms of HPV are harmless and actually go away on their own without treatment, but when a woman tests positive over and over for HPV, this is where the worries might start. The problem is, that most of the time, the genital form of HPV goes undetected because it is primarily a symptomless virus, causing no alarm and therefore never getting treated by a doctor.

There are times when a woman may get small bumps in her genital area, and this can be a sign of the virus. They appear as small, fleshy, pink wart-like bumps, and are usually a sign that an individual has HPV. The only other detection is through a PAP smear. Getting regular PAP smears can help a woman prevent cervical cancer from HPV. An abnormal test can show that a woman has the virus, and it can then be treated so it does not cause the beginnings of cervical cancer.

Other advances in the treatment of HPV include a new immunization vaccine that purports to stop certain harmful forms of the virus in its tracks. This is a huge discovery, especially since it is estimated that about half of all cervical cancer cases have been linked to certain strains of the human papillomavirus.

The vaccine is still considered experimental, and ethics and morals committees are still debating whether this vaccination should be given to young girls or not when it becomes available to the general public for use.

The fact that the deadly strain of HPV causes approximately 50% of all cervical cancer cases is a strong argument on the side of giving the vaccine at a more universal level, but as always this will be a subject of debate. The vaccine is not infallible though, and women still would need to get tested periodically for harmful HPV strains, since this vaccine does not protect against every strain that can potentially cause abnormal cell growth, which leads to cancer.

It is estimated that roughly 15,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year. Not only that, over 4,000 women die every year from this deadly disease.

With the new ads on TV and spreading awareness about the importance of PAP tests, we are on our way to 100% awareness, but still aren't there. Like the commercial says, share this information with every woman you know. It could save their lives.

Copyright 2006 Danna Schneider