I was having dinner with some friends the other night, one of whom does HIV research. We started talking about STDs in general when another friend admitted she’s had herpes for about 10 years. She said she contracted it from the second guy she ever slept with and though she hasn’t had an outbreak in about 8 years, she always tells potential sex partners about it. I was surprised when she said that her gynecologist said that as long as she isn’t in the middle of an outbreak, there’s really no need to tell a sex partner—then I remembered this letter to advice columnist Jamie Bufalino in last week’s Time Out New York. A young woman writes:

“I’m a 23-year-old female, and just found out yesterday that I have contracted HPV/genital warts. I called the four people I’ve slept with in the past year to inform them, saving my current beau (he’s 28, BTW) for last. When I got on the phone with him (he lives in Boston, I’m in New York), I hardly had to say anything because he quickly responded: “Oh yeah, I have HPV too.” We’ve been dating for four months and he never bothered to mention that his last two girlfriends both magically contracted this virus after being with him. He apologized, said he felt terrible that he never told me, that he had planned to tell me soon, asked what he could do to make up for it, etc. I told him I never wanted to speak to him again. Now, the morning after, I wonder: Is getting an STD just part of being an adult? Or is passing a virus a deal breaker?”

An HPV vaccine for men is likely to be approved in the next year, but according to a recent study, men are fairly unlikely to get the shot, even if told it would help protect their female partners against cervical cancer. Sadly, we’re not surprised. Many men won’t sport a rubber to protect themselves and their ladies (yes I know I’m generalizing here), why would we expect them to get poked by a needle?

Farrah Fawcett left a Los Angeles hospital today after being there over a week. She suffered from stomach bleeding resulting from the anal cancer treatment she received in Germany. [People] XOX to FF. We hope you’re feeling better! But we gotta admit, we hd a Big Q: What exactly is “anal cancer?”

There has been a lot of sex-related stuff in the news over the last couple days, which makes complete sense because April is STD Awareness Month, and, you know, the S in STD stands for sexually.

According to a new study, HPV is moving on up…to mouths!  That’s right, just when you thought Gardasil and Cervarix solved all your problems, now you have to worry about what else you’ve been opening wide.  Since the ‘70s. throat cancer cases have doubled, and the research shows HPV is to blame, with 39% of all occurrences caused by the human papilloma virus. Before you go cutting your man off from his favorite foreplay, listen to this: men are 35% more likely than women to develop oral cancer from HPV. Sheesh, making a new man go downtown may be riskier than you both think!  Still, there’s more bad news—as of yet, there is no way to test male genitalia for HPV or anyone’s throat to see if they’re a carrier.  So, it’s a roll of the dice and doctors fear you may even be able to contract the virus from kissing. There goes all the fun! Since this throat cancer link is a new revelation, the cervical cancer vaccines haven’t been tested or proven to prevent it. So, deep throat, you might want to use a condom for oral sex or just give that random stranger a handy and call it a night! [ABC News]

We scored a nice little quote in Page Six Magazine‘s story on “Generation Unsafe Sex”, but some of the other people interviewed left us with the question above. A half dozen or so NYC singles, as well as a Jezebel blogger and a sex educator, were interviewed about the topic of safe sex (and the fact that more and more people are not having it)—this quote, in particular, stuck out:

“Once STDs and death seemed synonymous. Today, the accepted reality is that the STDs one is likely to contract through unprotected sex are more mundane, which is underscored by the fact that so many of them are cured using the same antibiotics you’d use for a sinus infection.”

So far in the states, Gardasil has been the only FDA approved vaccine for the double-whammy strain of HPV that causes cervical cancer. However, in Europe Cervarix has been kicking HPV’s butt and protecting women across the continent.  While the drug has been in the FDA review process for foreva-eva, it looks like new data submitted by the makers, GlaxoSmithKline, will stall approvals now until 2009. Sheesh! What’s a girl gotta do to get some options? [Wall Street Journal]

The Human Papillomavirus, aka HPV, can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. And now it’s possible that the vaccine that guards against HPV, Gardasil, may cause death. Around the world, 11 girls, as young as the age of 11, have died after receiving the shots, and about another 1,700 have reported complications which include fainting and GBS, a disorder which weakens your immune system. Since 95% of people who have HPV are asymptomatic, all in all, .002% of women with HPV die from related cases of cervical cancer. While it seems like fear mongering to support or oppose the potentially life-saving or life-threatening vaccination, getting guarded by Gardasil should clearly be a personal decision. Currently three states are making shots mandatory for adolescent girls, against the advice of the American College of Pediatrics and a researcher who worked on developing the vaccine. Sure, egalitarian vaccinations sound like a good idea in theory, but now that the results on Gardasil are in, ladies, like everything else, should be free to do what they want. Get your laws off my body! [Huffington Post and Natural News]

“Can a woman get cervical cancer if a smoker routinely goes down on her?”—Paranoid About My Puffer, Houston, TX

There hasn’t been any real medical research to support this claim, but you’re not totally crazy. If I had to take a guess, I’d say having a smoker go down on you is like putting Equal in your coffee. It’s not awesome for you, but if you don’t eat eight bathtubs full of it a day you’ll be fine.

Testing for HPV can be twice as effective at protecting women from developing cervical abnormalities as smear testing, according to a study carried out by Hammersmith hospital. In addition to cytology (smear test), the 3,000 women who participated in the study were given an HPV test when they came in for a routine visit. The results showed that the risk of developing cervical abnormalities at 1, 5, and 9 years after a normal smear test was .33 percent, .83 percent, and 2.20 percent. After a negative HPV test, the risk was .19 percent, .42 percent, and 1.88 percent.

I’ve already told you I’ve had HPV. I’ve managed to steer clear of any other STIs, but I know many people who have had herpes, crabs, gonorrhea, or chlamydia. What about you? Take our poll—don’t worry, all results are of course anonymous.

1) That’s the Human papillomavirus. No, virus isn’t a separate word. It’s the most common sexually transmitted infection, but most people who have HPV don’t even know they have it. There are over 40 strains of HPV which affect everything from the nose, to the mouth, to the genitals, sometimes in the form of oh-so-sexy warts. A few specific strains of the virus are the ones that can lead to cervical cancer. The strains of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancer.

The FDA is rushing to rubber stamp Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine, for women ages 27-45.  Initially, the miracle HPV-preventer has been well received by its intended market—women and girls ages 9-26. Due to Gardasil’s success, amounting in $1.5 billion in sales last year, its makers, Merck & Co, are looking to expand potential beneficiaries. Merck has found Gardasil to be 91% effective in women 24-45 and are pushing for FDA approval within six months. The FDA is already reviewing a similarly effective British vaccine, Cervarix, put out by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which is currently used for women up to 55 years of age in the U.K. No matter who wins the vaccine approval race, this is good news for women. With 250,000 reported deaths from cervical cancer every year, somethin’ has gotta be done! [ Boston Globe]

Hey, you know Gardasil? The vaccine that is given in three doses to women up to age 26 which protects against certain strains of the Human Papilloma Virus, the number one cause of cervical cancer? Which by the way can be transmitted even if you use a condom? Well, as our Catherine discovered, many gynos don’t actually carry Gardasil in stock and it’s up to the patient to fill a prescription for the vaccine and bring it to their doc for injection. And as our Emily also discovered, most insurance providers don’t cover the $160 price tag because they don’t think the vaccine is “necessary”. Even though it’s an extremely effective preventative measure against a virus that can cause the kind of cancer that will kill nearly 4,000 women in the U.S. this year. Though, in the insurance companies’ defense, we suppose paying for the failed treatment for those 4,000 women may end up being cheaper. Anyway, we urge you to get the HPV-vaccine if you’re under the age of 26 and if your insurance doesn’t cover it, get on the horn and totally make it clear that your cervix is gonna be healthy and pissed.

What is the deal with HPV? Can guys get it? How can I prevent getting the infection? Does it ever go away?—Curious Hypochondriac in Chicago, IL

The Human Papilloma Virus is basically a group of viruses that include different strains and types. Roughly 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted, and can infect the genital area of men and women.
Some stats, after the jump…

After nine years at Brooklyn’s New York Methodist Hospital, OBGYN Josine Veca has seen it all. Here she gives The Frisky her diagnosis of what women want when they stop by.

What are common concerns for women when they come to see you?
It varies by age group. Younger patients, 30 and below, are usually concerned with STDs, birth control, or, if not, trying to prevent pregnancy. As the women get older and are approaching menopause, they’re worried about hot flashes, irregular periods, and symptoms that may be unusual. I’d estimate that 30 to 40 percent are concerned with a mixture of those issues.

How much prying do you have to do or do most women come in with their own specific questions?
A lot of women who come in with their own questions are very comfortable talking about sex. But if they don’t, the subject usually comes up when I’m interviewing them. At first they may be tentative, but the idea is to open communication