The Importance of Being Tested
Posted by Meredith on Dec 03, 2008. Filed under Expert Advice
Comments (3), Permalink
Most of the people using Here Comes The Guide to plan their wedding are women. So, I’m going to take advantage of this platform to remind our female audience of something important:: Don’t let the hoopla of planning your wedding keep you from getting your Pap test this year.
Personally, I have a history of irregular Pap tests and cervical surgeries. I was just 27 when I had my first abnormal Pap. I was lucky enough to find the abnormalities before they became cervical cancer, but it would have been very serious had I not gotten regular Pap tests and had an early diagnosis that was treated aggressively.
When you see your doctor, push to have an HPV (human papilloma virus) test done along with your Pap test (they’re already all up in your business, might as well swab for one more thing, right?). HPV is the virus that leads to cervical cancer and a high percentage of young woman carry it. If the HPV test comes back positive, move swiftly to deal with the issue. Don’t put it off (and don’t let your doctor put it off) and take it very seriously.
Recently, one of our Here Comes The Guide event professionals was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She’s going to be ok, thankfully, but it serves to remind us how important those tests—and aggressive care—really are.
Getting off my soapbox now.
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Comments
Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience to help inform women that yes, it CAN happen to you! Another really important lesson here is the importance of being aggressive about your health. Say that one of your tests did come back abnormal. If they say “let’s wait 6 months to see what develops,” don’t chance it! Insist that they re-examine you sooner. This is your health we’re talking about!
Thanks for bringing attention to this serious issue. If all of us women took the time to do these things, we could help ourselves out a lot in the long run.
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Hooray for you reminding us of this!