Many good things came about as a result of the Lance Armstrong
Foundation's LiveStrong Presidential Cancer Forum in Iowa. Discussions
on cancer research funding and how government can play a role in
America's quality of life came to the forefront. Perhaps one of the
most important aspects of the forum for those who advocate for
reproductive health, however, was the injection of the human
papillomavirus vaccination into the national conversation. Genital HPV
infection is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by human
papillomavirus, a group of viruses that includes more than 100
different strains. The disease is spread by genital contact. All types
of HPV can cause mild Pap test abnormalities which do not have serious
consequences. Roughly 10 out of the 30 identified genital HPV types
can lead to development of cervical cancer.