Celebrity Cervix

Um, didja see the Herald photo?! It was freakin' huge! I WAS the City section of the Herald today. And I just finished an interview with Global Television. I'm on Friday evening at 5 pm. I appear to be this week's HPV poster girl.

I am okay with this, except for a couple of things:

1. I keep being asked to comment on the vaccine debate. Whatever the opposite of 'political' is, that's me. Although, I grew up in a household that did not buy what the pharma companies were selling.
2. I now feel like I need to be cautious in terms of what I say on my wee bloggie. Because people might actually listen. And the fact that I am questioning the standard treatment protocol might not, y'know, go over so well.

However.

I love the fact that I wrote four blog posts and BOOM, a city-wide dialogue has begun. This I can get behind. So let's keep talking, shall we?

I've learned a lot today. The trigger for the virus isn't well understood, but it appears to be immune system related. Which connects with what I've been thinking about.

This week, I have been absolutely leveled by a cold. For the first time in around two years. I don't know how scientifically accurate this is, but to me this says something about the state of my immune system. Also, and I can NOT believe I'm telling you this, but I noticed what appears to be a wart (sigh) on my foot the other day.

This tells me that a) I have no shame whatsoever, b) HPV is having a house party in my body right now, and c) my immune system is on summer vacation.

I checked out factors that weaken your immune system. In a nutshell: bad diet, not enough exercise and stress.

If I'm the HPV poster girl, it looks like I'm also the low immune function poster girl.

For the past year or so, I haven't been exercising as regularly as usual. I have not been sleeping enough. My diet has gone to hell. And I've been stressed: moved in with my boyfriend, wrote and performed a one-woman show, traveled overseas and have pretty much lived as far outside my comfort zone as is humanly possible for the past year.

All of this points to a system that is taxed to the limit. So, once this cold lets me peel myself off the floor, it's immune boostin' all the live long day.

Speaking of the common cold. I am now BFF with someone from the US who found the Herald story and tracked me down. Sweet lady and damn smart too.

She had some awesome things to say about the stigma of HPV. She described it as the common cold of the cervix. Sort of. Stigma-wise, it doesn't matter who gave you the cold. You don't go around blaming and freaking about how you got it. You just deal with it. And try not to get it again or let it turn into pneumonia.

I have more to report from my US BFF, but for now, this is HPV Girl, signing off.