Fredo here with a request for our HPV message board community. ASHA publishes HPV News, a bimonthly journal that offers headline coverage along with news items and feature articles on the personal side of HPV.
In each issue we feature a short, anonymous vignette from a vistor to ASHA's site that tells their story about HPV. Sometimes this is from someone dealing with HPV directly, other times it's a partner. This balances out the reporting on headlines, research, and policy with a real world, personal story that most readers seem to like.
Anyone who may like to contribute one or two paragraphs for consideration may either post right here in this discussion thread, or contact us at
forums@ashastd.org. Not all entries can be selected, unfortunately, and we will edit stories for clarity and length. There will be a chance to review the final version before publication, if you like.
Below is an example of a story we recently published. We would love to hear from YOU. Thanks for helping us out!
Best,
Fredo
Quote:
At age 19 I had abnormal test results from a routine Pap. Being young, I ignored it and went on my way. Finally at age 23, other medical problems led me to see my doctor; I had another Pap test, was told I had HPV and was at increased risk for developing cervical cancer. When I was diagnosed with HPV, I had never heard of the infection, and there was barely any information available via the Internet. It's amazing to me now to see how much awareness has been spread about HPV! It's still sad though to think that's it's too late for so many of us. After a year and a half of follow up exams, I had a normal Pap test. I haven’t been back to my doctor since my "normal" test result; I guess I was just so relieved to finally hear the word “normal†I thought everything would be ok again. I think maybe I need to get back to the doctor. It's just comforting to know there are so many people sharing similar struggles as mine!