At a recent appointment, my doctor gave me a brochure describing how their pap tests now screen for HPV (previously known by the less-than-savory name "genital warts" and is now recognized as a cause of cervical cancer) and why we women over 30 aren't being vaccinated against it. Pulling out of the parking lot, I was stopped at a traffic light, so I grabbed the brochure and opened it.
My eyes fell on this:
"What??" I incredulously ask the paper, but again it tells me the same thing. Eight of every ten. 80%.
Now, I know that statistics can be twisted into illustrating anything, but even if that's half-true, that's horrifying. And that's just one disease.
As is customary, I chewed on this the whole fifty-minute drive home.
As my life goes on, the more I realize the freedom afforded by God (and living according to His ways and not of the world) is not as much freedom to, it's more freedom from. Freedom from worry. Freedom from shame. Freedom from heartbreak. These are not insignificant freedoms. And I'm not perfect, so I understand this kind of captivity. But I also get that we are granted an even greater freedom - freedom from our pasts.
80%.
My eyes fell on this:
How does a person get HPV?
HPV is a very common virus. It's estimated that 8 out of every 10 people get HPV at some point in their lives. However, many will never know they have had it, since most women fight off the virus before it causes any problem.
"What??" I incredulously ask the paper, but again it tells me the same thing. Eight of every ten. 80%.
Now, I know that statistics can be twisted into illustrating anything, but even if that's half-true, that's horrifying. And that's just one disease.
As is customary, I chewed on this the whole fifty-minute drive home.
As my life goes on, the more I realize the freedom afforded by God (and living according to His ways and not of the world) is not as much freedom to, it's more freedom from. Freedom from worry. Freedom from shame. Freedom from heartbreak. These are not insignificant freedoms. And I'm not perfect, so I understand this kind of captivity. But I also get that we are granted an even greater freedom - freedom from our pasts.
80%.
Great post Jennifer. It's really sad that we've come to a place in our culture where promiscuity is expected. This assumption that we are all somehow carriers of an STD is a really annoying part of public health.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. When you make good choices and God protects you from "less healthy" ones, you see how ridiculous it is to assume we all are carriers.
In California, we were told if we refused a battery of STD tests when Kristen was pregnant that the state could take our children. Then when babies are born they "are required by law" to smear an antiseptic on the babies eyes to prevent the spread of another STD.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. As always... your words make me think. :)