I have meet a woman and we are talking about becoming sexually active. We're both in our 40s. She has had a radical hysterctomy - cervix removed, etc. I am concerned about HPV and contracting it from her. I personally don't want the risk of infection and certainly wouldn't want to pass a high risk HPV strain on a future partner.

What are the risks of becoming sexually active with this woman?

Hi and thanks for your post. There's no way to really know the risks of getting HPV from her, primarily because no test can figure out for sure if someone is able to transmit the virus. We do know that most cases of HPV are cleared by the immune system within a fairly short time, well, depending on your perspective...say, 6-24 months. There is just no way to know for sure if a given partner is able to transmit the virus at this point, though.

Let me try and at least offer some perspective: Virtually all sexually active people (probably upwards of 80% of women by age 50) have HPV at some point, but even women with "high risk" HPV are seldom at risk for cervical cancer. Cancer is a RARE outcome of any HPV infection, and when it happens primarily occurs in women who have either never had a Pap test, or who have gone a long time without one.

A condom won't offer 100% protection, but is likely to be effective for the skin it covers. Also, you can ask your healthcare provider if they recommend the HPV vaccine for you.

Hope this helps, and sorry I can't answer your question more directly.

Fredo

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