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Prevent HPV-Effects of HPV-Real Stories
Dr. Hartline travels the world teaching providers to screen and diagnose HPV. In this conversation she talks about the importance of preventing HPV and shares real life stories about the effects of the disease.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Rachel Hartline, MD
Rachel Hartline, MD
Rachel Hartline, MD is a Family Medicine Physician with Obstetrics at Upland Hills Health in Dodgeville.Learn more about Rachel Hartline, MD
Transcription:
Prevent HPV-Effects of HPV-Real Stories
Caitlin Whyte: HPV is the most common STD out there, but many people don't know much about it. Luckily, our guest is an expert. Dr. Rachel Hartline travels the world teaching providers to screen and diagnose HPV. In this conversation, she talks about the importance of preventing HPV and share some real life stories about the effects of the disease.
This is the Inspire Health Podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Well, doctor, start us off today with that big question right at the top, what is HPV?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. HPV stands for human papilloma virus. So, it's a super duper incredibly common virus that exists in the world and can infect humans. Certain strains of HPV can cause common warts. Certain strains of HPV can cause genital, anal warts. And certain strains can cause cervical cancer and head and neck cancer.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, you've done some incredible work addressing HPV, like we mentioned in the intro, traveling the world to help providers learn more. Can you tell us why you got into this field and just why you're so passionate about it?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. In general, I love doing that work because it empowers people in other places to continue their own education, it's not dependent on me when I'm not there. But what I really love about it is that it's like an entirely preventable cancer. Like no one should die of cervical cancer. And we have the tools to make that possible with not a lot of technology and with just some simple education. And so, I want justice for women around the world and them to live full fulfilling lives without the specter of cervical cancer.
Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. I love that. So with all these travels, tell us some more details about the work you're doing across the globe. Like boots on the ground, what does a day-to-day look like in all these places?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, my residency partner and I actually started doing these travels during residency, and probably COVID was certainly quite disruptive. But our goal is to go like once every year or two for a couple of weeks to a location that this organization we work with kind of has picked places that are both trainable and have high cervical cancer rates. And we train providers there by seeing just bunches and bunches of women on sort of techniques to look for changes that either might reflect cervical cancer or pre-cancer, is usually what we're looking for and treating it at that time. So, it depends on where we are and kind of what's going on in the country, how busy it is. But usually, it's seeing lots and lots of women, maybe giving them their post pelvic exam and training providers on how to do that well.
Caitlin Whyte: Beautiful. You know, going to all these locations and then just the day-to-day of working in your own office, tell us about some of the real life, you know, consequences of HPV. If you're diagnosed, what does life look like with it?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, HPV itself is just incredibly common. Like honestly, if you're just sort of swabbing folks generally for HPV and not looking for the cancer-specific strains, it's like common enough that it's mostly just a marker that someone has had sex probably, like really there are a ton of strains of HPV.
But that being said, those more concerning ones, there's four that are kind of the super major ones that can be linked with cervical cancer. And then, there's others that can be associated with other cancers and with other disease processes. And so, those kind of more concerning ones I think alarm people when they discover that they have it, but it's also something that is like super duper treatable if we catch it in time.
When I have a woman who has an abnormal pap smear with a positive high-risk HPV result, that's one of the things I like to sort of make sure that they understand really well, is that, you know, I would rather she not have it at all. But it's usually something that body does a good job of taking care of, and it's just something we need to watch a little bit more closely.
That being said, the real life example that stands out probably the most to me is, oh gosh, not quite five years ago now, my father-in-law was diagnosed with an HPV-associated head and neck cancer. He had just some really kind of lumpy spots in his neck. And I remember I was on vacation and my partner who sees him called me and said, "I don't know what this is, but I don't like it. It's not good." And it turns out that his lymph nodes were swollen, and they were swollen because there was a lot of HPV kind of causing a reaction in those, and there was cancer growing there. And he's doing quite well now. He's in remission. It hasn't come back. But it was a terrible treatment that I would not wish on my worst enemy, because it is just really a rough disease to make go away.
Caitlin Whyte: Necessary to remember those other iterations of HPV. Thank you for that. Now, you mentioned that HPV is preventable. Can you tell us about some of the ways that we can, you know, keep ourselves safe and just keep that in mind?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, the biggest thing is the vaccine. There is a vaccine called Gardasil that's effective against the four most common pathogenic or disease-causing strains of HPV. And it's most effective if it's given before someone has any sexual exposure. So, that's why we start talking about it usually kind of around the middle school age, just to sort of like make sure that we're just getting ahead of things, getting someone's immune system to see HPV in that vaccine form so that it can respond to it before they would ever be exposed to it otherwise. It's really quite effective.
What we know about the vaccine is that it reduces the risk of cervical cancer because it helps your body know how to fight off HPV if it was to encounter it. Although it doesn't change our screening recommendations, we still are looking pretty assertively for kind of abnormal cervical cells and treating those when we find them. But HPV vaccine can lessen the chance that that will happen.
Caitlin Whyte: Okay. Thank you. Well, wrapping up here, doctor, is there anything else we didn't touch on that you want listeners to know about HPV and the work you'll be doing?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. I guess, I mostly just want people to know that it's something that, if you have it, it's very manageable, but the thing to do is to not ignore it. The thing to do is to deal with it, just to be monitored and checked and get the vaccine. So, we start talking about it for kids in middle school, but it's actually been approved in adults now as well because we've seen that it does reduce the risk of other cancers and it does lessen the risk of those problems later in life as well. So, I would encourage everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated and prevent those problems down the line.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, doctor, thank you so much for your time and for your dedication to your work. We so appreciate hearing all about it. Talk to your primary care provider and ask if the HPV vaccine is right for you or your child. If it is, make an appointment today. Do not delay. This has been the Inspire Health Podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Be well.
Prevent HPV-Effects of HPV-Real Stories
Caitlin Whyte: HPV is the most common STD out there, but many people don't know much about it. Luckily, our guest is an expert. Dr. Rachel Hartline travels the world teaching providers to screen and diagnose HPV. In this conversation, she talks about the importance of preventing HPV and share some real life stories about the effects of the disease.
This is the Inspire Health Podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Well, doctor, start us off today with that big question right at the top, what is HPV?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. HPV stands for human papilloma virus. So, it's a super duper incredibly common virus that exists in the world and can infect humans. Certain strains of HPV can cause common warts. Certain strains of HPV can cause genital, anal warts. And certain strains can cause cervical cancer and head and neck cancer.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, you've done some incredible work addressing HPV, like we mentioned in the intro, traveling the world to help providers learn more. Can you tell us why you got into this field and just why you're so passionate about it?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. In general, I love doing that work because it empowers people in other places to continue their own education, it's not dependent on me when I'm not there. But what I really love about it is that it's like an entirely preventable cancer. Like no one should die of cervical cancer. And we have the tools to make that possible with not a lot of technology and with just some simple education. And so, I want justice for women around the world and them to live full fulfilling lives without the specter of cervical cancer.
Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. I love that. So with all these travels, tell us some more details about the work you're doing across the globe. Like boots on the ground, what does a day-to-day look like in all these places?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, my residency partner and I actually started doing these travels during residency, and probably COVID was certainly quite disruptive. But our goal is to go like once every year or two for a couple of weeks to a location that this organization we work with kind of has picked places that are both trainable and have high cervical cancer rates. And we train providers there by seeing just bunches and bunches of women on sort of techniques to look for changes that either might reflect cervical cancer or pre-cancer, is usually what we're looking for and treating it at that time. So, it depends on where we are and kind of what's going on in the country, how busy it is. But usually, it's seeing lots and lots of women, maybe giving them their post pelvic exam and training providers on how to do that well.
Caitlin Whyte: Beautiful. You know, going to all these locations and then just the day-to-day of working in your own office, tell us about some of the real life, you know, consequences of HPV. If you're diagnosed, what does life look like with it?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, HPV itself is just incredibly common. Like honestly, if you're just sort of swabbing folks generally for HPV and not looking for the cancer-specific strains, it's like common enough that it's mostly just a marker that someone has had sex probably, like really there are a ton of strains of HPV.
But that being said, those more concerning ones, there's four that are kind of the super major ones that can be linked with cervical cancer. And then, there's others that can be associated with other cancers and with other disease processes. And so, those kind of more concerning ones I think alarm people when they discover that they have it, but it's also something that is like super duper treatable if we catch it in time.
When I have a woman who has an abnormal pap smear with a positive high-risk HPV result, that's one of the things I like to sort of make sure that they understand really well, is that, you know, I would rather she not have it at all. But it's usually something that body does a good job of taking care of, and it's just something we need to watch a little bit more closely.
That being said, the real life example that stands out probably the most to me is, oh gosh, not quite five years ago now, my father-in-law was diagnosed with an HPV-associated head and neck cancer. He had just some really kind of lumpy spots in his neck. And I remember I was on vacation and my partner who sees him called me and said, "I don't know what this is, but I don't like it. It's not good." And it turns out that his lymph nodes were swollen, and they were swollen because there was a lot of HPV kind of causing a reaction in those, and there was cancer growing there. And he's doing quite well now. He's in remission. It hasn't come back. But it was a terrible treatment that I would not wish on my worst enemy, because it is just really a rough disease to make go away.
Caitlin Whyte: Necessary to remember those other iterations of HPV. Thank you for that. Now, you mentioned that HPV is preventable. Can you tell us about some of the ways that we can, you know, keep ourselves safe and just keep that in mind?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: So, the biggest thing is the vaccine. There is a vaccine called Gardasil that's effective against the four most common pathogenic or disease-causing strains of HPV. And it's most effective if it's given before someone has any sexual exposure. So, that's why we start talking about it usually kind of around the middle school age, just to sort of like make sure that we're just getting ahead of things, getting someone's immune system to see HPV in that vaccine form so that it can respond to it before they would ever be exposed to it otherwise. It's really quite effective.
What we know about the vaccine is that it reduces the risk of cervical cancer because it helps your body know how to fight off HPV if it was to encounter it. Although it doesn't change our screening recommendations, we still are looking pretty assertively for kind of abnormal cervical cells and treating those when we find them. But HPV vaccine can lessen the chance that that will happen.
Caitlin Whyte: Okay. Thank you. Well, wrapping up here, doctor, is there anything else we didn't touch on that you want listeners to know about HPV and the work you'll be doing?
Dr. Rachel Hartline: Yeah. I guess, I mostly just want people to know that it's something that, if you have it, it's very manageable, but the thing to do is to not ignore it. The thing to do is to deal with it, just to be monitored and checked and get the vaccine. So, we start talking about it for kids in middle school, but it's actually been approved in adults now as well because we've seen that it does reduce the risk of other cancers and it does lessen the risk of those problems later in life as well. So, I would encourage everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated and prevent those problems down the line.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, doctor, thank you so much for your time and for your dedication to your work. We so appreciate hearing all about it. Talk to your primary care provider and ask if the HPV vaccine is right for you or your child. If it is, make an appointment today. Do not delay. This has been the Inspire Health Podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Be well.