Thoughts from a Kittn

Ok, I know I haven’t been faithfully updating my blog.  Not real good at staying on top of this stuff.  But I have some updates and other random thoughts.

Update 1: The trial

Well, the trial has been postponed.  Since the defense attorney is defending a woman charged with drowning her 3 kids with the help of her boyfried on Oct. 23, apparently he won’t be available on Nov. 6.  So there is a status hearing on December 15 to discuss a new date. This gives both sides time to figure out their schedules.  It also give the court time to appoint a new judge - apparently Judge Dozier is going forward with is retirement at the end of the month. That leads to the second part of the trial update - the prosecution has put forward a motion to combine the sexual assault case and the stalking and breaking and entering case.  The new judge will have to get caught up on the details and make that decision.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/10/18/news/doc4536422fdbed9110089138.txt - Bloomington, IL news - article on the trial

I’m sure at some point and time I’ll be posting some emotional, unintelligible stuff about the trial and it’s effects. I’ll be writing a victim impact statemtent as so point.  Just warning you now!

Update 2: My niece

Ok, well technically she hasn’t made her appearance yet - but sometime between now and Dec. 19th - I can’t wait.  I’m already getting her Christmas gifts!  So far my sis-in-law is doing great and so is Peanut!  Too bad they are down in Texas. But that does give me a reason to go down there.

Update 3: My health

 Since receiving the HPV positive results and abnormal pap, I’ve been doing a lot of research.  And it’s kind of scary.

Did you know: 80% of women will receive a positive genital HPV result. 

Did you know: that there is not test for men without a tissue sample from the penis. But it is believed that an equal number of men are positive for HPV

Did you know: You can have HPV and have no symptoms at all. Or you may have it for years without knowing before actually testing positive. In fact, testing is very seldom done and is not done for all forms of genital HPV. If you are under 30 years of age, they do not test for HPV unless there is an abnormal pap.  If you are 30 or over, they may test for HPV, but if you have had 2-3 clear pap tests they may tell you to forgoe the pap - the pap is the only way they have of identifying HPV.

Did you know:  There are somewhere between 30 and 40 strains of genital HPV.  Approximately half are considered Low-Risk - which mean you may get genital warts, but those are not generally found in cancers of the genitals.  About half are considered High Risk - which means you don’t get the warts but you do have a much higher risk of cervical cancer, vulvular cancer, vaginal cancer, anal cancer - men are at higher risk for penial cancer and anal cancer.

Did you know: genital HPV is considered a sexually transmitted disease - but not through fluids - it is passed skin to skin - condoms do not fully protect because the amount of skin covered is only partial.

Did you know: In reality, very little is known about the specifics of HPV. Approximately 20 million people have an active infection - which is the time it can be identified - if the virus is dormant it may not trigger a positive test result.  There is no treatment for HPV.  They don’t know if a person can ever get rid of the virus.  It is believed that you can be infected with multiple strains.  They don’t know for sure that it causes cancer - the virus is found in approximately 99% of the cancers cases.

Did you know: Cervical cancer kills about 5000 women a year.  The “vaccine” that is currently being promoted actually vaccinates a total of 4 of the strains of HPV - 2 strains of High Risk and 2 strains of low risk.  Those 2 strains of High Risk are found in approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases.  Only girls under 26 can receive the vaccine - the younger the better - because if the girl has had sex she has most likely already been exposed to the virus.  Women over 26 can’t get it because they did not test it in anyone over that age.  The testing has been going on for 5 years - they don’t know it the vaccine will need a booster. This does not mean don’t have your daughter vaccinated - it may very well keep her from  getting those strains of HPV - definitely not a bad thing!

The amount of money put into research for HPV is minimal. Very little is really known about this virus - which is the most prevalant STD.  Thousands of women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer. Millions will be diagnosed with High Risk HPV.  Many doctors will admit they don’t know much if anything about it.  And yet very little research is being done and a minimal amount of funding is being provided.  Most people don’t even know about HPV.  They have really only been studying this virus for about 10 years.  But it can have a huge impact on a person’s life - women delay getting pregnant, have to have multiple tests and follow-ups - more doctors appointements and lab work. A lot of money is spent on monitoring it in women. 

If you want more informantion you can visit www.cdc.org and look under diseases/sexually transmitted.  Or visit www.hpv.com.  You will most likely find conflicting information everywhere you look.  The CDC site was most interesting - especially since they have posted replies/questions from doctors and those in the medical field about  HPV informational pamplets. Much of the information you see will be about low-risk HPV so don’t be surprised.

Ok - I’m done for now.  Thanks for being here - the support through everything is most appreciated.