every chonny jash song is like *voice with the most autotune and layering possible* ME AT THE SUICIDE STORE *the fastest drums youve ever heard in your life* *voices in the background saying some words you arent really sure are real* ohhh my fucking god theyre arguing again *RANDOM XYLOPHONE* were like jekyll and hyde if there were 3 Of Them. and then you look at his directors commentary and hes like “gonna be honest i dont fucking know what i was doing either”
Because I am tired of seeing young people (think 40 year olds!) die horribly of an almost completely preventable disease, and I haven’t seen the obligatory Tumblr PSA about it, so I’m making my own.
1. CERVICAL CANCER IS REALLY BAD
Cancers that have a good prognosis are usually cancers that can be caught early–like skin cancer, which is easily seen, and therefore usually treated very early. Cervical cancer does not give you symptoms until you have very advanced disease, which means unless someone is regularly testing your cervix, you will likely not be diagnosed early. More than half of people diagnosed with cervical cancer present with advanced disease. 75% of them will be dead within 5 years. For comparison, when caught in the earliest stage, there is a 90% 5 year survival rate. Treatment for those diagnosed is chemo and radiation, and believe me, those are not fun. If you do happen to be in the lucky 25% of survivors, if your cancer comes back, you have an 85% chance of dying within a year. Also! We think of cancer as something that happens to old people, but the average age of diagnosis for cervical cancer is 50.
2. WHO GETS CERVICAL CANCER?
Cervical cancer used to be the most common cause of cancer-related death in women in America, but at this point it’s basically a disease of People Without Pap Smears–developing countries, immigrants, low socioeconomic status, BIPOC, rural communities, LGBTQ, etc.
A Pap smear is a screening test for two things: HPV, and your cervical cells. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. Literally half of the people in America have some strain of HPV on their body. Most HPV infections go away on their own (in people with healthy immune systems), but some strains are Very Bad, and some people are just Very Unlucky, and the HPV starts causing your cervical cells to turn cancerous. 91% of all cervical cancers are caused by HPV. So a Pap smear looks to see if your have HPV, and if so, is it one of the bad ones? And also, do you have any cancerous cells hanging about in your cervix? And! It takes 10-30 years for HPV to turn those cells into cancer, which means you have a really really long time to catch it before it becomes cancer and cut those pre-cancer cells out!
The thing my dad said I shouldn’t get because it might make me a slut. Yes! There is an HPV vaccine! You should get it! It protects you against the nine most common cancer-causing types of HPV. It’s recommended starting at age 11, and you can get it up to age 45 now! (It used to be 26, but as of 2020, it’s now extended.)You can get it from most primary care doctors, or from Planned Parenthood, CVS, Walgreens, etc. If you get the vaccine you still need Pap smears.
5. I HEARD YOU CAN ONLY GET THE VACCINE IF YOU’RE A VIRGIN
Fake news. While the vaccine does not treat old infections of HPV, it does prevent new ones, so while the benefits are theoretically decreased in those who have already been sexually active, it does not mean you will not benefit from having it!
6. WHO GETS PAP SMEARS?
Everyone with a cervix starting at age 21, until you lose your cervix or until you’re 65. You should get them every 3-5 years (depending on your exact age and what test your doctor does).
7. BUT I GOT THE VACCINE
Nice! You still need Pap smears.
8. I HAD ONE AND IT WAS HORRIBLE/I’M SCARED OF THE EXAM
Talk to your doctor about this in advance! Good gynecologists (and other providers) will work with you to minimize discomfort as much as possible. They can use a small speculum and lots of gel, prescribe anti-anxiety medications to take in advance, and some people will even use numbing creams and/or laughing gas.
9. BUT I DON’T HAVE/CAN’T SEE A GYN
Most primary care physicians can do them! So do a lot of urgent care centers!
10. BUT I’M A LESBIAN
HPV can be transmitted through oral/genital contact, hand/genital, and even hand-to-hand-then-genital, so you still need Pap smears.
11. BUT I’M A VIRGIN/ASEXUAL
You still need Pap smears. HPV can be transmitted not just through penetrative sex, but also through oral/genital, hand/genital, and hand-to-hand-then-genital, and also 9% of cervical cancers are not caused by HPV.
12. BUT I’M A TRANSGENDER MAN
If your cervix was removed, then congrats! You do not need Pap smears. Otherwise, unfortunately, you are still at risk for cervical cancer and need to be screened.
13. BUT I’M A TRANSGENDER WOMAN
Neovaginas do not need Pap smears! Congrats! Consider getting the vaccine, though, to prevent spreading HPV to others.
14. BUT I’M A CIS-GENDERED MAN
Congrats! You do not need Pap smears! You should still consider the vaccine though, not only to prevent the spread of HPV to others, but also because HPV causes 50% of all penile cancers as well.
In summary: please please please go get your pap smear. Go get vaccinated. The spread of HPV can be prevented, and cervical cancer can be caught and treated before it even becomes cancer.
DON’T FEAR THE SMEAR
it’s cervical cancer awareness month y'all
Also, pap smears need to start at age 21 OR when you start being sexually active, whichever comes first.
If you’re like me and the pap smear causes you cramps and pain, take a back-related painkiller about 30 mins before your appointment!
Methocarbamol, which is commercially available under names like Robax (or Robax-something) and marketed for back pain. It s available without a prescription - it’s specifically targeted to help with muscle cramping and related pain. My doctor suggested I take one before every pap smear and they’re significantly less unpleasant now! (also good if you’re getting an IUD installed)
As a chronic people-pleaser, this is my advice for success.
Offer as little as possible. Be terse. Get rid of all those exclamation marks and tidbits about why you want to take a sick day. State your needs clearly and concisely without reason. Start saying “No, I’m unable.” more often. Say Thank You only when the other party deserves it.
Do you like to use the Mushroom Cloud as a fun Barbieheimer meme? If you do, it’s fine so long as you know what the cloud caused and what it symbolizes. If you don’t know the circumstances of the mushroom cloud, please search “Hiroshima Nagasaki atomic bomb people (with your safe search off)’ on Google Images. *The images are very disturbing. Please DO NOT try it if you are sensitive to extremely disturbing images.
I’m Japanese. In Japan, unfortunately, many people have never seen the old pictures of the real effects of the mushroom cloud. We learn about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (both are cities in Japan) in primary school or junior high, when we are about 10-14 years old. Many adults think it’s too risky to show children the pictures because it shows human bodies, which look like human charcoal. Living people got severe burns on their faces, their backs, and their whole bodies looked like melting wax (additionally, most of the people in the pictures are citizens, not soldiers. There are many kids, babies, and old people, of course.) Even though it happened in our land, many people (including me, I’m ashamed to say though) don’t feel it was an actual event because it seems very unreal and it happened almost 80 years ago. Fortunately, I had a chance to learn about the atomic bombing and see several pictures of it. Now I know what happened in 1945. I think some people here/outside of Japan realize it as well.
I don’t blame people born outside of Japan who have never known/learned about the effects of the atomic bombing. I want to ask you to learn and understand what happened under that iconic mushroom cloud before you make a meme with it. If you think ‘So what?’ after that, I will have nothing more to say to you.
I’ve not seen Barbie or Oppenheimer because they are not released here yet. But I feel they are both very interesting. I’m looking forward to watching them. I wish I could have fun watching them without any distractions before going to the theatres.
Don’t get me wrong. I know that during World War II the Japanese government did tons of terrible things to people outside and inside of Japan. I just want people to know that atomic bombing is a very serious issue, and using the images of the mushroom cloud as a meme/design is like using a symbol of the Nazi/KKK as a fun meme. It’s not fun. Atomic bombing should never happen anywhere in the world.
Tags from OP: #I’m NOT saying it to make Japanese people 'victims’ of the memes #I’m afraid that people get used to making jokes about it #or forget how horrible nuclear weapons are #the atomic bomb in 1945 killed 129000-226000 people in total #at least 88% of those were civilians #the total number is uncertain #because in many cases there were no remains to be found
