Friday, February 4, 2011

Thanks to Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga


Last week pop music diva and media sensation, Lady Gaga, made a startling statement while in London for the promotion of her own MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick that raises money for HIV/AIDS and donates every dollar of its sales to the cause.  She remarked, “I’m single right now and I’ve chosen to be single because I don’t have the time to get to know anybody. So it’s okay not to have sex, it’s okay to get to know people. I’m celibate, celibacy’s fine.”
Lady Gaga claimed that a big part of the reason she was sending the celibacy message was because of the steady rise in the rate of HIV infection among women worldwide, which has grown while the overall rate among men has continued to decline.  She added that the rate of infection worldwide is higher than ever for women in her particular demographic of women aged 17-24. Awesome, I was hearing such a positive message to young fans from a young star in a wildly influential position to them. Congratulations Lady Gaga.
 Oral Cancer- “the cancer you can catch.” The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) virus, an epidemically sexually transmitted infection in the United States, has  become the largest growing risk factor for oral cancer  in the very same demographic that Lady Gaga was referring to. Transmitted by oral sex, HPV, the same virus responsible for the majority of cervical cancers, is becoming responsible for oral cancer in young people with no other risk factors. In addition, the HPV virus shares an insidious relationship with its deadly “cousin,” the HIV virus. People living with HIV are much more at risk for HPV complications, and women, in particular, living with HIV tend to have multiple types of HPV infection.

As a health care professional, felt a debt of gratitude to the young artist who, while shooting to stardom, has embraced a higher sense of responsibility to her idolizing young fans. In the same interview Lady Gaga stated, “When you’re in the public eye, you’re a role model whether you want to be or not. And I want to be.” She added, “I’m not one of those self-obsessed artists who don’t care about their fans. It’s not just about the music.”
While much has been reported on the unconventional image of this young singer, I believe this time Lady Gaga has hit the perfect note.  She said, “Something I do want to celebrate with my fans is that it’s okay to be whomever it is that you want to be. You don’t have to have sex to feel good about yourself, and if you’re not ready, don’t do it … It’s cooler to be strong and independent.”  A great health message. Thank you, thank you Lady Gaga!

We regularly screen for oral cancer at each checkup visit, and also have an advanced screening utilizing ViziLite Plus®
ViziLite Plus®

(Some of the original content for this post courtesy of Fox News and  Dr. Gerry Curotola of New York)
I welcome your comments.


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