What is the difficult process that infected people go through?

The story of a 22-year-old girl infected – PART II

The truth is that HPV cancer has changed many aspects of your life. She considers that she is a more mature woman. She values what she has and is now more aware. Mariana considers that she was never,” a person with debauchery” but she accepts that she often made”bad STD decisions.”

“Many times, perhaps, we believe that a person with a pretty face will not have an infection. Or a sexually transmitted disease, or we downplay contraceptive methods. Furthermore, we believe they are 100% safe when we use them. That is not the case.

We must be more aware,” she states.

On the other hand, on the psychological level, this STD virus marked her. Although she hopes to overcome it one day, she still deals with the thoughts of it. She sometimes feels angry.

Furthermore, neither in the short nor long term does she see herself with a partner. She details that her STD trauma is such that she cannot even let a man “approach her.

“Pain generates a very great trauma for one. This type of news is so ugly that it also changes the way you see men. For example, I no longer want to have a boyfriend.

I no longer want to meet people. I know that we are all different. When a man approaches me to say nice things, I no longer feel the same. I feel a lot of mistrust. Mariana’s data showed that she believed she was less likely to catch the virus due to her age (22), but the reality is very different.

The doctors visit

Dr. Alejandro Calderón is a doctor from the Strengthening Comprehensive Cancer Care project. He asserts that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. Estimates suggest that 8 out of 10 sexually active individuals will contract an HPV infection at some point in their lives.

Most of the time, they are transient infections. Many people even become infected, eliminate the virus and never realize they have it. The problem is that there are more than 200 types of HPV. They are named by number, with 16 and 18 being the most dangerous. They are more likely to develop cancer.”There are STD studies that indicate that in countries where vaccination was started in girls, those girls delayed the start of their sexual life. So we are not sexualizing them; we are simply preventing them, and we are providing sexual education respon”ibly”. – Doctor Alejandro Calde”ón.

“The prevalence of STD infection varies depending on the group of women. For example, about 12% to 14% of women between 30 and 65 years old have the virus at any time. These can be transient infections. In 90% of cases, the virus is eliminated within a year and a half or two years. Most of the time, it does not affect the body,” explains the specialist.

Among all the types of HPV, some are cutaneous and cause stings. Some lesions on the skin are not related to the sexual part. In addition, there are mucous membranes, which affect the body’s membranes. It causes genital damage, resulting in warts. If this type of lesion is not treated in time, it can lead to cancer later.

Prevention is better than cure.

“A woman with HPV and a high-grade lesion has a 60% chance of it developing into cancer within five or ten years.” Calderón cautioned. Calderón stated that the World Health Organization’s goal is to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide by 2030. This reduces its incidence to less than 4 per 100,000 women. In Costa Rica, cervical cancer affects 12 out of every 100,000 women. To reach this objective, we need to decrease cervical cancer incidence by almost 70% in the next eight years.

Additionally, the doctor emphasized that it is possible to prevent cervical cancer, even in severe cases.

Furthermore, the doctor emphasizes the prevention of cancer, even in severe cases. This applies to both men and women.

Calderón also highlights screening as a second form of prevention.

This involves detecting the virus through the Pap smear, which identifies pre-cancerous lesions caused by the virus. Finally, there is the HPV detection test.

“It is very important that all women have the habit or habit of having these STD exams: the Pap test at least every two years and annual HPV screening at least every five years, says the specialist.

Mariana decided to tell her HPV story because she wants to call on women and men about what this virus represents and the difficult process that infected people must go through, even when it is a low-risk type.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Mariana’s pseudonym safeguards her identity. She worries about potential criticism or judgment if her real name is revealed and feels unprepared to handle that.

Final Message

“I feel that this virus is very difficult to accept. Furthermore, it is difficult to tell society openly because they will judge you and see you differently because there is a lot of misinformation regardi”I’mhis virus.

“I’m embarrassed to tell people about having this virus to a certain it’s because it’s so recent. Mainly, I fear judgment or being labelled by a “future partner,” she explains.

Perhaps that is why Mariana faced this process alone, without sharing it with anyone. She remembers that until a few couldn’t, she couldn’t stop crying whenever she found herself without anyone around her.

Now, because of her experience, the young woman believes that more people with STD testimonies like hers must dare to talk about what they have gone through. For Mariana, it is crucial to raise awareness in society, for her to keep in mind that this is a virus that anyone with an active sexual life can become infected with.

Likewise, she emphasizes the lack of HPV knowledge about the subject, highlighting that the virus remains taboo, primarily due to its mode of transmission through sexual contact.