Scary Stuff That

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Forget weapons of mass destruction, forget terrorism, forget Robert Mugabe, Scientology, Tom Cruise and all the other terrifying things out there that make our world a mine field and that makes the concept of the 1930's war bunker look slightly less ridiculous.

All of that is bad, granted, but the truly scary stuff, the stuff you can't see and don't really understand but that wants to kill you anyway, comes from inside your own body. We are miraculous beings. Essentially we are sacks of liquid with other sacks inside us that perform very specific functions. Some very complex machinery manages a very complex process and we put one foot in front of the other and call it walking. This we do and take for granted.

Sometimes things go wrong and we learn too late not to take things for granted any more.

Sometimes we get sick. Sometimes we get a virus. Bet you think you know where this is going. But you don't, different virus, different effects, more hope. With this one it's actually possible to have a happy ending.

The human papillomavirus, not the nastiest piece of work in the world but scary nonetheless. Its scary because unless you actually look for it, its virtually undetectable, its scary because its common as muck and its scary because while it can be almost completely harmless it can cause cervical cancer, vaginal cancer and vulval cancer.

The virus, as stated, is very common, up to 80% of all sexually active women will have had it at some time in their lives. 80%! Most will never know it. It has virtually no symptoms and so passes undetected by nearly everyone who has it. 90% of the women who have it will clear it themselves with the aid of their immune systems. The problem is the other 10%. If the virus is not cleared abnormal cells could develop in the lining of the cervix, these are called CIN cells (cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia cells), which can then become cancerous.

If caught early cervical cancer can be successfully treated. The recurrence rate of cervical cancer is low. There are various types of treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Surgery options include: electrosurgery -- an electrical current removes the cancerous cells; cryosurgery -- a freezing process destroys the cells; laser therapy -- a laser beams burns the cells off; conization or cone biopsy -- a piece of cone shaped tissue is removed from the cervix.

If you are one of those people who has come to think of cancer as being no worse than say pneumonia, because there are so many different types of therapies out there and vaccines and, "doesn't practically everyone recover these days anyway?" Then maybe you should read the next few lines.

In Europe, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women aged 15 -- 44 (breast cancer is the leading cancer killer). Around 40 women die every day from cervical cancer in Europe. This is in Europe, the developed world. In the developing world things are much worse, take some statistics from South Africa for example. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in black women at 31.2%. In white women the figure is only 2.7%. That says a lot about access to doctors and testing facilities but before anyone gets all het up about that fact we must add some important information. Cultural factors also have to taken into account. In some black cultures the women see their wombs and vaginas as belonging to their husbands so when they have to have smears (they call it "hanging their feet") it disagrees completely with what they believe culturally because they have to give someone else access to what is essentially their husbands' property. You may not agree with it. You don't have to. Thanks to many programmes sponsored by many non--profit organisations, however, this perception is changing and more and more women are coming to be tested and treated.

This is one disease that can have a happy ending. It depends a lot on early detection and treatment but as with all other illnesses a lot depends on the patient's attitude. A healthy and positive outlook and the love and support of family and friends will do more good than medicine alone. She may be your mother, sister, daughter or friend, your wife, girlfriend or niece, if you love her, tell her.