Is What’s Good for “Everybody” Always Good for Us?

Opinion Editorial by Phill Wilson

In order for the Black community to end the AIDS epidemic, we must all assume individual responsibility for taking care of our health. Sometimes this means going to the doctor for an annual checkup. Sometimes it means getting an HIV test. But you can't take care of yourself if you don't know what steps to take. Many of us need to know more.

This week we ask questions about a very important self-care step that women can take to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and cervical cancer.
In "The New Pap Smear Guidelines: Are They Right for Black Women and Girls?" we ask Elizabeth Bradley, M.D., vice chair of ob-gyn at the Cleveland Clinic, whether the dramatic changes in Pap smear guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) are good for Black women and girls. While we understand why the changes could be positive overall, we have good reason to be concerned. One reason: ACOG's recommendations include one that would raise the age at which a young woman obtains her first Pap test to 21--no matter how old she was the first time she had sex. A Pap smear helps doctors test for human papillomavirus (HPV), the STD that can cause genital warts, cervical cancer and other sexual-health problems.

With an STD epidemic raging among Black folks--for example, research shows that 50 percent of Black teenage girls have an STD, by far the highest rate of any race--might such a delay unintentionally negatively affect our community, perhaps contributing to the further spread of STDs? Or are the benefits of waiting until 21 that ACOG describes (for example, fewer invasive medical procedures performed on our teens) worth the risk? If ACOG is right, are there alternative ways for sexually active teens and young women to protect themselves until they turn 21? And if you already have HIV, do other changes in the guidelines apply to you?

These questions are critically important in the fight against AIDS, since people who have one STD not only are more likely to become infected with HIV if they’re exposed to it--STDs weaken the immune system--but are also more infectious to others if they already have the HIV.

As you'll learn, determining how these questions apply to your individual situation isn’t always straightforward or easy. But by becoming informed, each woman can take the appropriate steps to protect her health and, by extension, that of our community. When we know better, we do better.