HPV or Human Papillomavirus has been linked to cervical cancer. If you have been watching TV, then you have heard of HPV and the fact that young girls have it and that cancer is the second highest cancer that kills women.
Now you can either be like me and take off running to the hills, ignore the information or find some way to deal with it. What TV has done is present us with the information without fully explaining what HPV is or how it can lead to cancer.
In layman's terms, HPV is a microscopic organism that is transfered from one person to another by physical contact. When it finds it's way to cells susceptible to it, then it bonds with the surface of the cell. Most times HPV does not lead to cervical (or any other) cancer. However, sometimes (and scientists are still trying to figure out why) some of the genetic material from the virus bonds with the genetic material of the cell causing it to reject proteins that regulate cell development. In those cases, the growth of cells then goes completely out of control resulting in cancer.
It is important to note that not all cases of HPV result in cancer, however, if you remember the story of the Tree Man, you will remember that he suffered a severe case of HPV.
Take a look at this YouTube Video explanation:
For some of the more popular questions you may still have, watch this video from CBS TV
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