Dental screenings and yearly paps

I know, these two things seem weird to put together but it's just two things I was thinking about in the shower.

I recently got my teeth cleaned, and I overheard the girl next to me tell the man that they do screenings now for oral cancer, insurance doesn't cover it, (which is for another post another day!) but it cost like $15 dollars, she asked if he was interested and he said , "no thank you". I felt like yelling over the wall, "Get it done!! It could save you lots of grief!) Of course I didn't. But seriously, if he knew what I had been through the last 3 months, he would get that screening. If your dentist offers it, pay the little money and get it done.

I wonder if my dentist had provided that service before, a few years ago, would my cancer have been caught much earlier? I had NO signs that I had a tumor on the base of my tongue, and it was the size of a golf ball. No, I didn't have trouble swallowing. It must have grown so slow that I just got used to it as it grew! I didn't have a sore throat even though I had cancer on my tonsils. My blood work never showed anything funny. So just because you "feel" fine, doesn't mean anything.

I have a good friend who has been sharing with me that her good friend has cervical, and bladder cancer. It was from the same virus that mine was, HPV virus. From what I've been told, she had not been going to the Gyn doc and getting yearly paps. I'm sure she would tell you the same thing now that she has to go through surgeries and chemo and radiation, get your yearly paps done. It's REALLY important. I know, it's not a fun appointment, We all hate it. Maybe some more then others for good reason. But you will hate cancer more. I can assure you of that. Had she known that she had HPV virus they may have been watching her more closely for this. She went to the doc several times because she was having the feeling of having to urinate all the time but nothing was coming out, but it took them months to actually think, hey maybe we should look for something more serious, like say, cancer!  They don't always jump right to something bad, they test all the little things it could be first. Get your paps girls. This poor girl has to go through so much now, it breaks my heart. Please, be proactive with your health. I am not trying to freak any one out here, I'm just saying, take charge of your health!

Oh and one more tidbit, since I mentioned in this post that I and someone else both had cancer from HPV virus, do your research on that, and the vaccination they are giving young girls and now some guys even for Hpv. I have read a lot of bad things about the vaccination, so do your homework before you take your kids in for that shot.