Hi there!
Well I also have HPV, I was diagnosed 3 months ago, so I have gotten a lot of info.
Well, HPV is a virus that lives in the skin cells, therefore you get it from skin-to-skin contact (not by fluids). HPV is very contagious, 80% of the U.S. population has it and half of them don't even know it because it can lay dormant in your body for years. The virus never leaves your body, but it is believed that it takes about 2 years for your body to suppress the virus. Which means you are always contagious, whether you have a wart or an abnormal pap (i am not sure if you have the wart strain also??)
Since you have the strain which causes adnormal cell growth on your cervix, first off....you DO NOT have cancer, the only reason why people say that is because if you don't take care of the abnormal cell growth it can develop into cervical cancer (which takes about 3-7 years to fully develop). This is why your doctor is performing the coloscopy so that he can see if you do have abnormal cell growth on your cervix and if so, he will then freeze your cervix.
I have had both of these done on me and they aren't too bad.
HPV rarley shows up in males, this is why they are considered carriers of the virus. I have a boyfriend and so I asked my doctor some questions and he told me that my bf has a less than 3% chances of developing a wart and has a higher chance of getting hit by a medeor than to get penille cancer. So your finace has nothing to worry about, but he probably does have the virus (even if he has no symptoms) which means he could pass it on to others.
HPV isn't life threatening, yes there is no cure, its just a BIG pain to deal with. The important thing is, is that you are aware you may have abnormal cell growth and now you must make sure you go in for your paps every 6 months.
If you have any more questions feel free to post! Just remember there are A LOT of people out there who know exactly what your going through!!
Good Luck!
Linear Mode
