Why is there still so much stigma around HPV? 85% of us will have it!
Everything you need to know about this super common virus from cervical cancer screenings to if you should really get the vaccine.
AND some personal insights on what to do if you have it. What do you tell your partner(s)? We got you
Why is there still so much stigma around HPV? 85% of us will have it!
Everything you need to know about this super common virus from cervical cancer screenings to if you should really get the vaccine.
AND some personal insights on what to do if you have it. What do you tell your partner(s)? We got you
Hi, I'm Sara.
Supraja:And I'm Supraja. And this is Gyn&Tonic. Welcome
Sara:back to Intimate Convos with your besties.
Supraja:Hello?
Sara:Hello
. Supraja:Hi, Sara.
Sara:Hi.
Supraja:Happy
Sara:H P V. What? Oh no, I'm just kidding.
Supraja:That's what we're talking about today, kids. But before that, Sara, what drinks did you make Us?
Sara:Lemon, cello, SPRs.
Supraja:I, you impressed me every time.
! Sara:I wish I man have thought that. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm a confident woman.
Supraja:How was your 4th of July?
Sara:Um, I went to the beach and it off and on rained.
Supraja:Okay. Real Independence day moment.
Sara:I know, but you know what I think we just all need to reflect on what we're celebrating. Mm-hmm. And who doesn't get to benefit from all those rights that theoretically. Everybody should have, and I'll stop there.
Supraja:Well, I, surprisingly, people might be surprised who know me know that I am like I'm a true patriot on July 4th. Oh, see, she look. She's surprised.
Sara:Yeah. You know why? Because I started following your sister. What if she your other sister?
Supraja:Oh, yeah. Yeah. She was angry about it.
Sara:No, the, she was like, she posted this meme about how New Jersey is one the most unpatriotic state in the country. And she's like, literally brings tears to my eyes. I'm so proud of my state. And I was like, I, I thought yeah
Supraja:no, I. Of course find some of things that happened in this country, so heartbreaking. But I don't know what it is. Like I just really love being American. I love being other things too, but I feel like our promise is so exceptional. And part of the heartbreak is that we just often let ourselves down, you know?
Sara:Well, I think that's because we've like lived up to the, we're like our parents'. American dream. I literally, my mom came to the United States with nothing, didn't speak any English, you know? Yeah. And she, and look, you know, I've done okay for myself from all of her sacrifices. That's the American dream.
Supraja:I know, and I definitely think that this idea that anyone can just move here and be super successful is a myth. Like there's lots of systems in place that make that less possible, but I also just look at the White House and my heartbeats faster. Okay
. Sara:That's true. I love being in, in dc How was your DC trip?
Supraja:It was so fun. I know. This is why I'm fresh off my patriotism.
Sara:I know. I can tell.
Supraja:Well, I just think, I think that's why it's so heartbreaking cuz it's like, yes, all people are created equal. So when will we eventually, like when will we live it? Which maybe we've never lived it before and maybe our founding fathers didn't really mean it. But something in them said it, a set a version of it. And I want it to be true. Yeah. Anyway, but my trip was really great. I feel like couples traveling together, it's like a stress test, you know, like an EKG stress test where they're like making the numbers go up and you're like, ah,
Sara:I have not been on a couples trip in a long time.
Supraja:Well, it was wonderful and also funny, like Adam and I traveled really well together. But it is interesting when you're with someone all the time, even small differences kind of come out.
Sara:!!Well, even when we were booking our trip to Mexico City or we were picking out hotels, you're like, you guys, I need a hotel that has a gym in it, because my fiance has changed my way of traveling. I was like,
Supraja:I blamed it on him so that you guys wouldn't judge me, but I wanted to gym.. No, I mean, Okay. That's a normal thing if you're gonna spend like a ton of money on a hotel, not even having a gym that's suspect, but whatever. I'll do it for you ladies. That's fine. You guys in general have a lot more preferences than, so I'm willing to sacrifice there., but it was a really lovely trip and , yeah, I always feel like it makes our relationship stronger, but does highlight, cuz Adam and I are so similar. But then you put us in high stakes situations and some things are very different. Like how I'm a lot more impulsive than him. Like a lot more, he's very thoughtful about his decision making process where I'm like, let's do this. Let's move on. Let's do this and move on. And he's like, let's think about all the pros and cons.
Sara:So I feel like I'm in between you guys.
Supraja:Yeah. Probably.
Sara:I'm very thoughtful, but I'm also, I don't want to perseverate on stuff.
Supraja:Yeah. Or you're like, fine. You make the decision. Yeah. Let's just do it. Yeah. If you're over it. But it was really fun. And , we almost never fight, so it's, we didn't have any big fight.
Sara:I was about to say, did you fight?
Supraja:!No, but we had like more little tiffs, like , we had made this plan where he was gonna work , out, I was gonna edit our podcast.
Sara:Mm-hmm.
Supraja:And he had talked to his friends, we were meeting up with about when to meet up and like made all these plans about when he is gonna finish running, whatever. but had not really communicated that to me. And so then he came upstairs and was like, we gotta go. We're running late, we have to go. And I was like, instinctually super annoyed cuz I was like, I don't know anything about this plan. Like you just decide when you're gonna finish running and I have to be done right away. And I handled that by just like stewing and pretending I can't hear him. I'm really mature. And then, but he's just so wonderful. It was still good because we eventually got out the door and we were like talking about it and I was like, yeah, I just found that really annoying cuz you didn't communicate any of these plans with me. And it's hard to be mad at Adam because then he's always like, you're right, I should be a way better communicator. And then, and then I'm like, well, I should probably also just not pretend I can't hear you and not respond to the plans you're doing. Like, yes, you probably could communicate better, but also I was being very immature. Okay, so it was good.
Sara:Okay.
Supraja:!All of these things for us last like five minutes, I don't know. It's interesting when you like merge your life with someone.
Sara:Yeah
. Supraja:I wonder how he is gonna feel about me telling this whole story.
Sara:I don't think he'd mind . You didn't paint him in a bad light. It's just normal. Like
Supraja:he's really the be, it's like hard to be mad at him because he always just like takes responsibility. Like immediately he'll be like, yeah, you're right. I really should have communicated that better. Like immediately immediate responsibility taking, you almost resent him for being like so considerate.
Sara:That's good though.
Supraja:I know. He's so sweet.. Okay. Anyway, Sara, what is this episode
Sara:we're talking about HPV
Supraja:I've had it. This is a confessional
Sara:What? I'm just kidding. Because today we're empowering. People with hpv.
Supraja:Yes.
Sara:And we're educating the masses.
Supraja:Because even I, a gynecologist, felt confused and unsure when I had it. I was like, what? It's so crazy because I was a gynecologist when I found out I had HPV and. I remember sitting in the office being like, wait, I have so many questions. And then immediately being like, man, I really need to talk to people better about this cuz if I have that, this many questions. I can't imagine how other people feel. And also just being confused of like, well, I was in a monogamous relationship, like what does that mean? Um, and for some people are not in monogamous relationships it really goes to show, like, it honestly has nothing real to do with that because it's just really common and people don't know almost anything about it.
Sara:Yeah. So we wanted to shed some light on HPV, also known as the Human Papillomavirus. And you know, I actually just went to a conference where some of, like the world experts who study HPV were at, and it was really reassuring that there are still so many questions and people don't always know the answers. Mm-hmm. Like, do we, when should we stop screening? When should we start screening? When do we do pap smears? When should we, you know? So it made me feel reassured that the medicine and the recommendations are always evolving. And so what we were hoping to do today is just kind of go over some of the basics of HPV. And, you know, go through some questions for when it does come up, whether it be like, what do I do about myself? What are the next steps? Or like, well, how do I talk to my partner about this?
. Supraja:Yeah. So just at a very basic level, HPV is a virus and it affects certain types of tissues. Specifically it can, infect, the genitalia, meaning like your cervix, your vulva, your vagina, your anus can also affect your, , mucus membranes like head and neck. So the reason that we care about it, even though it's super common, is that for some people it can cause changes that eventually lead to cancer. So, So that's the main reason. And then a specific type of HPV can also cause warts. So those are kind of the two consequences that make us pay more attention to something that, in general, is actually usually a benign thing. Usually people get it, it becomes dormant or they clear it.
Sara:And other reason we care about HPV and. One of the interesting and helpful things about it is we can test for it. And not all cancers in our body we can screen for like ovarian cancer. There's no test that we can test people for. You know, pancreatic cancer, there's no test. We can test people for breast cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer. These are cancers that we. Fortunately, have tests available for where we can test people every few years to see are they at risk, and identify those people so they can get treatment before it turns into potentially a full-blown cancer. So that's one of the, the benefits of HPV you know, knowledge and testing. You know, before we had HPV testing and pap smears, cervical cancer was one of the most common cancers for women in the United States and worldwide. Now it's the fourth most common cancer among women because we're so good at screening and have been really good about doing pap smears in the last 20 to 30 years. Mm-hmm. Worldwide, it's still one of the most. Common cancers, unfortunately, because you know, they don't have access to as many resources as we do in the United States, unfortunately.
Supraja:Yeah, and it's kind of a combo, but with screening and also vaccination, that has led to a dramatic reduction of HPV related cancers. But let's first talk about like the screening, then we can talk about the vaccination, , okay. So basically how you screen for cervical cancer is something called a pap smear.. And it's a screening test, which basically means it tells you if you need further testing to diagnose a pre-cancer or cancers issue.
Sara:And you're picking up cells, the cytology, and then screening for hpv, there's over 200 strains of hpv. Mm-hmm. And most of us are gonna get exposed to it at some point of our in our lives, but most of us are gonna get rid of it, or the virus is gonna be quiet in our bodies and do nothing. But for those of us where it does turn positive, You can check and see what kind of strain it is, and that helps determine, okay, what is my risk of developing like genital warts or a pre-cancerous lesion? Mm-hmm. Um, and so there are certain strains that we get a little bit more worried about.
Supraja:Yeah, there are a few high risk strains that are more likely to cause a pre-cancer or cancer. And in terms of who needs testing, Sara, So the current guidelines that we follow still, say at age 21, people start on it irrespective of like sexual activity. There's some immunocompromised conditions where screening guidelines might be a little bit different, but in general, people get it when you're younger every three years, and when you're a little bit older every five years, if your testing is normal. That is changing. You know, it takes a long time for these guidelines to change and they've changed significantly in the past too. Mainly because we realized in the past when we would test people every year, it was leading to a lot of procedures that people didn't need. Cuz a lot of these changes go back to normal on their own. So there's a push towards HPV testing instead of cells. The cytology testing is the initial screening tool and starting people later. So I think in our lifetime we'll see that happen, but right now it's still cytology, which is the cells are the primary way.
Sara:They used to test people as young as like as soon as they became sexually active. Mm-hmm. Which for some people may have been 14, 15, 16, and they realized everybody who's in their late teens has hpv. Yeah. And they were doing all these biopsies and procedures when they really didn't need to, because most young, healthy people are gonna get rid of the virus or it's gonna become quiet. And resolve and go away on its own. And so they realize we can wait a little bit longer. Um, and that's based on like all the studies that they've done and realize it's just really not necessary. Um, yeah, we can wait till 21. Wait till 21.
Supraja:So, okay, Sara. I think people wanna know what if it's abnormal? What does that mean? Do I have cancer? I dunno how many people come to me and say like, oh yeah, I had cancer. Like what type of cancer? And they're like, of my cervix. And they're like, what happened? They're like, nothing. They just said to watch it. I'm like, okay, let's rewind. But yeah, tell people what it means if they're test is abnormal. What follow up they have, what do they do if that follow up is abnormal?
Sara:So, um, it depends if you are, you know, it depends on a combination of things. One is HPV present and how abnormal are the cells. And it's kind of a spectrum. The cells are either completely normal looking. Sometimes they're atypical looking, but we really don't know what kind of atypical they are. Then the next grade would be they're low grade changes, meaning there are changes in the cells, but they look low grade to us, meaning not super worrisome. And then the next level would be they look high grade, a little bit more abnormal. And so you can fall in this wide spectrum of changes and so then it becomes, okay, what should we do? And depending on what, what, how the cells look. Usually the next step is let's do another exam, but let's use a microscope to look at the cells even closer,
Supraja:called a coposcopy.
Sara:Mm-hmm. And you do that in clinic. It's nothing special. It's with the same doctor who did your pap smear. Literally. It might be in the same exact room. Um, you're awake. It's not, and, and what they're doing is they're looking at the cervix a little bit closer with the microscope to see if anything looks abnormal and if you need a biopsy,
Supraja:Yep. Yeah. And then if you need a biopsy, the results of that are what we consider diagnostic. So the screening tool is to say, do I need more testing? The coposcopy is to diagnose what's going on, we grade the results on a scale. So basically we take the biopsy or the pathologist do act like we're all purpose. Sara and I are like at home looking at these pieces of tissue. No, no, no. The pathologists do it. Thank you, pathologists, but they look at the tissue and look at the cells in relation to each other, which helps them diagnose it. And they put it on this scale from completely normal to a little bit abnormal, to medium to pre-cancer, to cancer. So based on what they find, we decide how closely we need to follow someone to make sure it goes away, or if we need to do something. To treat what's already there., if it's a low grade lesion, we usually just repeat it in a year. And then if it's a middle or higher grade lesion, we either remove that section or we have kind of a nuanced conversation about people's goals and base it on that.
Sara:Yeah. So, you know, having an abnormal pap smear does not mean. Something bad is hap like something tragic or crazy is happening.
Supraja:Yeah. Like I remember when I had it, I had lsil just like low grade, but I'm still like, what? Yeah. Like, but I'm such a good person. No, it has nothing to do with what a good person you are, obviously. And then I had a c N one. And I remember my friend, like literally my friend, this is the problem with your friends doing your medical care. She like texted it to me. I think thinking like I would have a normal gynecologic reaction and I just remember being at home, staring at it and like sobbing
Sara:actually. So,
Supraja:but, and then I had a coposcopy, which like it did honestly did kind of hurt. I know we tell people it's not a big deal, but it hurt like the pap smear. So it's kind of like a pap smear in that they put a speculum in. But it just lasts a longer time. So you're like holding onto that discomfort for longer. And then I think it was kind of hard for them to get my biopsy, so like the pinching and pulling of the cells , was painful. But I will say it was quick maybe in total, even though it took them some time to get the biopsy, the actual pinching, I felt that for like a couple seconds and then I was fine. Um, so it hurt, but the hurt was brief.
Sara:I know I just did a couple on somebody today. It took us like five minutes. By the time she was like in, like !In the holder, like their legs were in the holders. We put the speculum in and it is, it's a little uncomfortable and some people feel the biopsy a lot, and other people, most people don't feel it.
Supraja:Okay. Okay. Sara. Sara is like, well, I mean,
Sara:some people don't, depending on the technique. I'm just kidding. I feel like most people, most people do totally fine. I feel like putting in an IUD is way worse than get a colonoscopy.
Supraja:Yes. I also have an I uud and agree that was a a lot worse? Yeah, I think it, it's different. The experience is different for everybody, but it usually is pretty short. Um, it's just uncomfortable to be in that position for five whole minutes. Like that's kind of a long time when you think about it, but I think worth it was worth it to me. Okay, so after that happens, a lot of people say like, what does it mean if I was in a monogamous relationship? Does that mean my ex was a cheater? Tell me he was a cheater because I've been looking for a reason to be pissed.
Sara:I'm literally always hammer texting Super Joe and Laura, like, I'm pissed. My day is, terrible.. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
Supraja:Yeah. Sara, was he a cheater? You gonna tell me?
Sara:Okay. Anyways., no, not necessarily
. Supraja:Okay. have his back then. That's fine.
Sara:So essentially, it's so hard to know because it's such a tricky virus. Um, and essentially you can get it years ago. It stays quiet and then it suddenly pops up. So, and the crummy thing is they don't test men for it. We don't screen men. There's no good test to screen men. There's only a way to screen women and
Supraja:or trans men or non-binary folk. But not cis men. Cis men just get away with everything.
Sara:No, no. Always. Oh, I should have been born a man. Just kidding. I love being a woman.
Supraja:Me too.
Sara:Um, but so you have no idea. And I think the crummy thing is sometimes they'll have patients who've only been with one partner and they'll be positive for hpv. And then you have people like me who've been with more than one par. Just kidding. Maria Mc
Supraja:I mean rock it. I
Sara:hope you're not listening to this episode.
Supraja:This is a parental. Should we put a parental advisory?
Sara:soy virgine seguro, esperando hasta que me caso seguro ? Anyways, it just really doesn't matter. Like it just, it's so hard to know. And so you may have had one partner and you have the virus, or you may have been with multiple partners and you may never get the virus, and so it's. It's really hard
Supraja:yeah, and I will say my ex was nice about it, like he handled it well, whatever
Sara:you told your ex. So you told your ex, okay.
Supraja:!I told my ex. I think I was very, I almost feel like how I did it, I was lucky that he kind of didn't know a lot about medicine was, and also was just kind of had a like whatever attitude about everything, because I feel like the way I did it was not ideal. I think I was just like, oh, guess what? I found
Sara:this guy. Is this the guy you did a music video with?
Supraja:No, but I was talking about him this weekend. Are you kidding? He would've freaked out. Okay. Freaked out. But no, this was another ax of mine who is. Lovely. But he was just like, huh, okay. And then like moved on, which I think if I were to go back, I would have had a conversation differently. Cuz I think people wanna know like, what do I say? Yeah, what do I do? Do you have any advice, Sara? You seem to have a lot of opinions.
Sara:No, I just feel like it just de, it just depends. I feel like. One, you know, um,
Supraja:you didn't do any, I didn't do anything wrong. No one else did anything wrong.
Sara:No, absolutely.
Supraja:And it's like remembering that when you're having the conversation that like, you should not carry the shame that society puts on you. That's not for you to experience.
Sara:And it's so hard to know. You can't, you, that person may have given you the str, the HPV strain. Yeah. And then you'll never know.
Supraja:Yeah. I think one, like evaluating, if it's a conversation you really need to have, because it is unclear, like you said, where you got it. Likely the other people have had it or have it too. So there is some negotiating like, do I need to have this conversation? I think in a monogamous relationship, like I felt like I should have it just cuz I didn't wanna be thinking about it and not, I just was like burping cause of the alcohol you gave me. Is it gerd? No. Um, but anyway, I felt like I should have it cause I was in a monogamous relationship. I just didn't wanna be worrying about it and not have the conversation. I think that remembering there's nothing to be ashamed of, and this is super common and just happened because you had. Sex. Like so everybody has sex. Like that's not shame.
Sara:You don't even have to have sex. Not shameful. That's the other thing.
Supraja:Or you don't have to have sex, mom. Well, I think, but there's nothing shameful about it. I
Sara:think the other thing to keep in mind is over 80% of people are gonna be exposed to HPV at some point. Yeah. And just most people are gonna clear it or it's gonna stay quiet and it's just not gonna get picked up. Yeah. Like I have may have been positive multiple times in the last 15 years, it just never got picked up. And maybe it'll get picked up on my next. Pap smear. Yeah. It's just, you can't predict that. And so, um
, Supraja:so if you're in a monogamous relationship and you've decided it's worth it to tell this person, then I would say first give yourself a talking to of like, I have nothing to be ashamed of. Review the information, maybe talk with your doctor. Practice the conversation. If you have friends or family, you could tell this to practice the conversation with them. Set aside some private time with your partner to talk about it. You can just either pick a private moment, do it in a place where you feel comfortable, maybe at home, and I would just rip the bandaid off. I would just like say, Hey, I had my GYN visit. And actually it came back that I had hpv, which is apparently very common and I would just rip it off. I would just say it,
Sara:and I think it's good to come in from like a fact of a matter like perspective. Like you don't need to come in like, oh my God, this hor, no, hey, my papsmear came back abnormal. Looks like I have hpv. I'm gonna have more regular visits with my gyn. It's actually a very common virus that most people get. Unfortunately, men can't get screened for it, and we only pick it up in women most of the time. Yeah, that's it. That's, those are the facts.
Supraja:!Yeah, and you can say there's no testing for cis men, but probably if I have it and we're the only partners we have that you've had it to and and would expect that both of us would clear it. And then just, you can offer your partner. Like, do you wanna have a conversation with my doctor if you have more questions? I think that's helpful. And just the reassurance of like, this is really normal actually. Is super helpful too. And then, okay. Sara, what do you do then if you're not in a monogamous relationship?
Sara:If I'm not in a monogamous relationship in general, I'm using condoms consistently. I feel like I'm being proactive about being safe for myself and for my partner. I feel like if I'm gonna not start using condoms and, and we're gonna discontinue use, then I'm gonna have an honest conversation with my partner about, This is the last time I was screened. When's the last time you were screened? Are there things like, you know, just to give you a heads up, um, you know, I did recently test positive for hpv and then I would give the spiel. But, you know, honestly, I really determine when that conversation needs to come up. If I'm just hooking up with somebody who've met a couple of times, I'm not gonna have that full confessional. Number two, I'm not gonna have that full blown conversation. But if this is somebody I wanna be really intimate with and, you know, you know, establish a relationship with, You know, and potentially put my own health at risk for things that they could potentially transfer and vice versa, then it's, they're worth that conversation. Um, so yeah, I think it really depends on the scenario.
Supraja:So condoms are your friend and just realizing that. You know, no one wants to have these uncomfortable conversations or have to think about this stuff when they're being intimate, but maybe it's a good screener. Like I've had people react negatively to things like this that I've told them, retrospectively, I'm like, I don't think I, I don't wanna be with that person, like who doesn't see the big picture in terms of public health and like understand what I'm bringing to the table. So it's uncomfortable to have to include this conversation and your decision making or like decide if it's worth having a conversation before you proceed. But maybe try to frame it as like, actually this is a positive thing cuz I'm gonna weed out people who are not great people. You know, or at least have like a baseline lack of knowledge that they're not willing to improve.
Sara:Yeah. And I've had patients, friends and patients tell me, oh, when I finally did bring this up, he was really rude, or he was mean about it, or he gaslit me. I'm like, great. Screen him out. That guy sucks. Yeah.
Supraja:Guy sucks like that.
Sara:He sucks. Why would you continue to cool? You have an answer. Yeah. A, a rational human being is gonna happen.
Supraja:Would be at least be like, tell me more.
Sara:Yeah, let's talk about this. Like, what can I do to make myself feel.
Supraja:You know, protected or protected,
Sara:safer decreases the chances of, you know, getting this whatever, whether it's HPV or something else. And so I think it could be really telling about another person.
Supraja:Agreed, okay, I really wanna talk about vaccines because all my favorite podcasters. Who I love and wanna be friends with, hate the HPV vaccine and I want them to hear us that. We love it
. Sara:Everybody should get vaccinated. Merck sponsor us jk. No, I'm just kidding., but we are all about vaccines.
Supraja:We really are. And people. Yeah. There's so much misinformation about the HPV vaccine. I think it's gotten some bad press for different reasons. Like part of the HPV vaccine was recalled and people really focused on that, which was just because there was an issue in the plant and they were worried that there was like glass in the vials. That's literally why it was recalled. It's just like an isolated lot number, but people use it as evidence of like the whole thing being unsafe. I'm like, have you never broken a glass? I break one every day. What do you mean? So that, and then two, there's this whole big lawsuit about side effects, which have really not. In big studies been shown to be true at all. You know, people are, there's a lot of buzz that it affects fertility and I don't even understand where that comes from.
Sara:I also think you have to think about what's the agenda of the person selling this message. And so I did, I went on the websites of some of the lawyers who were advocating for patients to reach out. Yeah. And literally one of the things they highlight is we have, we have made billions in these lawsuits. Because malpractice lawyers make money by winning lawsuits. Yeah. Billions of dollars. So there is a monetary incentive in some of these claims. Um, and when you really look at some of the things that, you know, I did look up some of the things that they were claiming. A lot of it was anecdotal, like in this one case. But you can't actually prove it. Like there's no,
Supraja:and in fact this has been given to millions of people and they look retrospectively and there is just no connection. So you almost can disprove it. Like literally, you really can disprove it.
Sara:They've quoted 135 million doses of this vaccine have been given. Yeah. And so to say one or two incidences have happened is. Well, you, you can't, how can you prove that this was the one cause of it?
Supraja:Plus, I feel like that's then discounting all of the people who get cervical cancer. Who aren't vaccinated. Like there are major implications to not being vaccinated and, and as a society, just like propagating this virus that then causes cervical cancer and people will be like, well, people get cervical cancer anyway. Sure. But way less people. Like, if you could cut my chance in half of getting cervical cancer, of course I want less chance of getting cervical cancer.
Sara:And there are actual. Studies that I've looked into. Okay. Have we actually benefited from the vaccine in the last 10 years and we have the rates of cancer of the genital organs. The vulva vagina cervix has actually decreased since the vaccine has been started being administered a couple decades ago.
Supraja:So, and people are always like mad at big Pharma. They're always like, oh, big pharma is pushing this like, It's not like I'm saying that I think pharmaceutical companies should have huge monopolies over, over things like, yes, I see the harm in that too. But two things can be true. Like you can work on not having a monopoly over a vaccine and also acknowledge that the vaccine is hugely successful in preventing cervical cancer. So I think, I don't know, I like, don't like when people use. Anecdotal evidence and then pair it with these buzz terms of like, oh God, big pharma, to get people not to do things that are generally in their best interests. And again, favorite podcasters if you're listening to this, don't hate me. I love you.
Sara:But, and what we mean by anecdotal is like, it's literally like this one person had this one epi. Like it's, it's literally a case one time. Um, and so versus like these big studies that have been peer reviewed and big journals and actually proven in good studies, um, and when they've like literally listed, you know, what are the common side effects of this vaccine? They're actually quite similar to all the other vaccines that have ever existed. That's not unique to this specific vaccine. They're actually like, common to other vaccines that we all routinely get without hesitance. I feel like just a lot of the stigma that comes with this vaccine is the fact that it is affiliated with people's sexual activity. Yeah. So like the idea of giving this vaccine to a 12 year old, you'll get a lot of resistance from parents saying, oh, no, no, no, no, no. My child doesn't need this. They're, they don't have hpv. Good. That's the point. You gotta give it to people before they've been exposed to the virus, make antibodies, and then when they get exposed to the virus, they've already built an immune response so that they are protected against those nine strains, which include some of the really high risk ones that are responsible for the cervical cancers and genital warts so that they don't get those things. It's not good in somebody who's. My age, who's already been probably exposed to the virus numerous times. It's not gonna work. But you can still get it. You can still get it, but it's not gonna be as effective in somebody like me. Yeah, it's gonna be more effective in a 12 year old who's never been exposed to the virus.
Supraja:And also when you're in that age, like 11 to 12, your cervix is literally changing. So that optimizes. How effective it's gonna be to catch it in that transition. So it also just has to do with your physiology at that time. Um, okay. But let's go over the basics of the vaccine. So the current vaccine protects against nine strains. That includes the strains that cause condyloma, as well as several strains that are associated with a higher what's condyloma. A wart,
Sara:genital warts.
Supraja:A genital wart. Okay. And included, so that as well as high, the high risk strain for cancer. Some of them, and we've kind of alluded to this, but in general, getting it 11 is optimal. 11 to 26 is really good for some people. We give it up to the age of 45 in select cases. It's regardless of gender, you should get it.
Sara:I made my brother get it when he was 17. Yes.
Supraja:Oh wow. Very proactive. Sara. Good for you. Proactive in that. Sara was also a teenybopper.
Sara:Um, I got the 4G uh, version though, so Oh, you did? When there's only, only four strains, but now we're, we're improving guys.
Supraja:You can have a better and better version version. You even the better one that I got.
Sara:And side effects, like you alluded to, similar to all vaccines. Things like you can have pain where you got a needle stuck in your body. Swelling, redness can cause headaches, rarely. Things like fainting. Those things, again, very rare. Really no proven association with fertility. I don't know how many times to say that. You know, as a person who received the vaccine when I was 17 years old, I'm really happy I got it. I know that I'm at least, you know, somewhat protected against some of those strains. Um, it makes me feel reassured. Um, and so, yeah, so far what we know from it after, since it's been out since 2006, we think it's working. That's what the studies have shown.
Supraja:Okay, so bottom line, H P v. Super common, not shameful, but get screened for it, get vaccinated for it. And everything will be better. Okay. Like you're gonna make more money, be happier. Just kidding. But really, things are better. And if you need to remember it's happened to other people, remember me,
Sara:probably me in three years, but get the vaccine. Yeah. And get screened and see your GYN and don't be alarmed if it comes back positive. It's actually quite common and it usually goes away.
Supraja:Woo. Bye. Love you.
Sara:Bye bye.