If you haven’t gotten the Gardasil vaccine yet, and you’re sexually active, I highly recommend getting it. Hell, why deny yourself that added little bit of safety, especially if it means lowering your cancer risk? A few little shots in the arm seems like a small price to pay, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, if you happen to be a lesbian, you might be in some trouble in this area: in a report by the American Association for Cancer Research, it’s being hypothesized that lesbians may be at a higher risk for HPV and cervical cancer.
According to a press release issued by the American Association for Cancer Research, “This study highlights an often-overlooked cancer disparity,” says the study’s author, J. Kathleen Tracy, Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a researcher at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. “We know that HPV can be transmitted during same-sex sexual activity, so lesbians are at risk of developing cervical cancer. If these women aren’t screened, they are at increased risk of getting this type of cancer by missing opportunities to identify precursor cervical abnormalities that can be treated.” (Source)
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So if you’re a lady who loves other ladies, now would be an excellent time to get screened for HPV, get yourself a Pap test, and perhaps get yourself your Gardasil shots. This is cancer we’re talking about here, so why not do everything in your power to avoid it?
(IMG Source: NatalieDee.com)
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