Cervical cancer is a slow-growing cancer that forms in tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). Through regular pelvic exam and a Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope), the pre-cancerous change in the cervix can be detected.

Cervical cancer is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Other factors identified include having multiple sexual partners, smoking, taking birth control pills and engaging in early sexual contact.

When caught early, cervical cancer can usually be cured and a woman may be able to have children after treatment. Treatments include hysterectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes with or without the removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes; radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Depending on how much the cancer has grown, patients may have one or more treatments or a combination of treatments.  Cancer of the cervix is treated differently than cancer that begins in other parts of the uterus. Its stages may be determined through Chest X-rays, CT scan, MRI and a PET scan.

Signs and symptoms to look for:

• Abnormal bleeding and pelvic pain,  unexplained change in menstrual cycle
• Pain and bleeding when something comes in contact with the cervix, such as during sexual intercourse or when you insert a diaphragm.
• Abnormal vaginal discharge containing mucus that may be tinged with blood.

When cervical cancer has progressed, these are signs and symptoms:

• Anemia due to abnormal vaginal bleeding
•  Pelvic, leg, or back pain.
• Urinary problems caused by blockage of a kidney or urether
• Leakage of urine or fecal content into the vagina due to abnormal opening that has developed between the vagina and rectum.
• Weight loss

Prognosis of the patient depends on the stage of the cancer, the type of cervical cancer, and the size of the tumor.

HPV or Human Papillomavirus is common and affects half of the people who have sex at some time in their lives. You may have it and are not aware of it.

HPV Quick Facts:

• Over 100 related viruses, HPV is given a number type; 60 cause warts on areas like feet, hands while 40 or so are sexually transmitted.

• Sexually-transmitted HPV viruses can be passed through intercourse and oral sex or spread through contact with infected genital skin, mucous membranes, or bodily fluids.

•  Many people are unaware of their infection with HPV and may have no symptoms so neither sexual partner may realize that the virus is being spread.

• Most likely you get HPV if you have sex at an early age, have many sex partners or have a sex partner who has had multiple partners.

• There are no symptoms of an HPV infection and the body clears the infection on its own over the course of a few years.

•  High-risk types of HPV can cause abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix and rarely, may cause abnormal changes in penile and anal cells.

• Abstinence is still the best way to avoid contacting the virus. Limit the number of sexual partners you have or choose partners who’ve had few or no sexual partners before you.

Just when your absentee love makes your heart grow lonely, sizzle up through a telesex or phone sex. It is the perfect way to liven up your relationship and get intimately reconnected to your husband or boyfriend.

Kinky talks aren’t as tricky as you think. With your erotic imagination, you may share your steamy desires, describe details of your fantasy or make him wild as you tell him, step-by-step, what you wish you were doing to him or him to you. You don’t have to masturbate if you don’t want to. All you have to do is to give the person on the other side what he wants to hear and feel.

Once you find your libido oozing as soon as you dial his number, lie back and imagine a steamy bedroom encounter with your guy. Start pleasuring yourself and when you’re hot and kinky, call him.  Get a rise out of your guy by starting to change your voice, speaking very slow at first and keep it down, make him imagine things. Up the sexual antenna by saying something like, “I’m stroking my tits and I’m starting to get wet.”

When you find yourself a little tongue-tied, ease yourself into a more intimate exchange by saying simple phrases like, “I wish I was getting hot and bothered with you now”.  That should be enough to give him the hardness and be in the mood to listen to what his girl is up to.

If initiating a kinky conversation isn’t your style, suggest your boyfriend takes the lead. Just, relax, close your eyes and concentrate on every lustful word. As you grope yourself, imagine that you’re feeling his tantalizing fingers caressing your skin. It’s okay to feel shy at first. Just moan or sigh while he narrates a naughty story. As the encounter heats up, you may be very surprised at the frisky phrases that pop out of your mouth.

Kegel exercise or pelvic exercise treats or prevents pelvic floor weakness, stress and urge incontinence. Easy to do by men and women, these exercises are beneficial for people with bladder control problems.  One can do Kegel exercises discreetly anytime and anywhere.

Here are the step-by-step instructions for contracting and relaxing pelvic floor muscles.

•  Identify your pelvic floor muscle. By inserting a finger inside your vagina and squeezing the surrounding muscles, you should be able to feel your vagina tighten and pelvic floor move upward.
• Do the technique.  You have to empty your bladder first then sit or lie down. Contract your pelvic floor muscles for five seconds, then relax for five seconds. Do this four to five times in a row. Try to work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.
• Focus.  Focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles, being careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Remember to breathe freely during the exercises.

A weakened pelvic floor gives way to uterine prolapsed or when one or more pelvic organs sag.  If you are pregnant, start doing daily Kegels and continue them after having your baby.

Friendship like any relationship is complex and dynamic. If you want support especially in stressful situations, if you want someone to spend good times with or if you need to just stretch those days a bit longer, you need to have reliable circle of friends. An active friend circle ensures you have better control over your lives and is never short on self-esteem.

People grow and relationships evolve.  Much as we wanted for friendship to last a lifetime, at some point we have to cut ties to achieve balance especially if the relationship has gone toxic. A healthy relationship is a balanced relationship where the needs of both friends are symbiotically met.

If you feel bad instead of good after spending time with your friends, when he or she is overly critical of you be it in a subtle way or explicitly; if your friends drain you emotionally, financially, or mentally, then they are not very good for you.

Bad friends don’t wave red flags and warn you of the eminent dangers in getting them on your radar. But their bad behaviors should be enough to warn you that something is not right somehow.

What are the signs of a toxic friendship?  Destructive or negative friends are hard to spot. Some friends may be born betrayers others may turn into betrayers. Take a pause and think about the type of friends you now have. These three red flags should be enough to tell you it’s time to get rid of your toxic friends.

1. Constant need for assistance. Be it advice, money or company, this type of friend calls on you constantly when they need something  and when things go well with them, you don’t hear from them at tall. This type of friend always takes from the relationship and never gives back.
2. Inability to maintain healthy relationship with others. Constantly fighting with someone, these friends are usually critical of others. They find fault in every person they meet and always have something to complain about certain people.  They stick with you because you are the only friend who stays. And when you turn your back, they tell others about your flaws, too.
3. Disrespectful and criticizes you often. While real friends don’t care if your house is in disarray or if your hair is messy, overly critical friends disrespect your relationships, try to put you down and yes, complain about your looks and constantly make you feel bad about yourself. They don’t care about your privacy or your boundaries for they are more concerned of what they need from you and they expect to get it.

Friendships are important everywhere and they have positive things to contribute to all areas of your life but when they start be toxic in any of these areas, spare yourself from heartaches and call it quits.

Named after the German gynecologist Ernst Grafenberg, the G-spot is the bean-shaped, spongy tissue which is a sensitive area in the front wall of the vagina. Stimulation of the G-spot produces a very powerful kind of female orgasm. In some females it produces female ejaculation otherwise known as “squirting”.

If you want to look for your G-spot, you need to play with yourself for a while until your body responds with arousal. The tissues can become erect and this will guide you as to where you experience the most delightful sensations. Numbness or unpleasant sensations can be felt sometimes and you need to relax as your body might have gotten tensed. Changing the quality of your touch or using more lubricant before continuing may help. To nurture it back into its full capacity for arousal, you may need to massage your G-spot are gently overtime.

To have your partner locate and master your G-spot, ask him to face you while you lie on your back. Let him insert his index or long middle finger into your vagina as far as it will easily go. Tell him to crook it up in a “come hither” motion. His sliding his fingertip along the top of your vagina should enable him to locate an area that is rougher than the rest of the vaginal wall. Just be sure he has his fingernails clipped short and buffed before he does it. The rough or slightly ridged area is the “G-spot,” and touching it will make you react with surprise or pleasure.

Keep your love-life sizzles with sexting. A real hit to create anticipation and build-up enthusiasm throughout your day, boosts your libido and add some newness and variety to your usual sexual routine.

Referred more generally as “flirtexting”, sexting is the explicit sexual conversation through text, meant to sexually excite one another.  It can actually be a great way to sizzle up your sex life.  Sext can be as simple as telling your partner what you want to do when you see him later.

Do sext only with someone you’ve known for some time and you truly trust. Don’t take the risk of having your photo leaked or your saucy messages forwarded, turning off the person on the receiving end, or having the photo get into the wrong hands.

Don’t use sexting as a way to pick up a partner. While texting is fine, sexting is not. Use sexting as a way to flirt with your partner and keep romance alive. If you have teens, caution them about the dangers of sexting. It can cause a lot of trouble if improperly used.

Do start slow.
Start casually. Tease him toward the main event but begin gingerly by a little caress and nibbling just like in real-life foreplay.  You don’t have to wait for the fellow to start the sexting. If you are looking for a power play in your relationship, be a text message minx and send him a naughty note first. Guys can’t resist a girl who knows what she wants in the bedroom and on her Iphone.

Don’t include your face in a naked photo text.  The photo may end up being seen by someone you know and people will forward those pictures to others. If you must send photos, use sext shots that don’t feature your face. Yes, your breasts could still become the naked email of the day but at least when they land in your boss’ inbox, they won’t have your ladylike face attached.

Do delete any sexts or photos after viewing them. Kids are more tech-savvy than you think and they might get hold of the phone and access your photos. Imagine your mom having a view of your “penis” message or your brother seeing you going down on some guy.  Also remember that very unsettling feeling the next time you are about to press “send” after finishing up an explicit text or e-mail. Proof read.

Don’t be a turn off by being overly eager. If he is begging for you to send sexy picture of yourself and you’re totally uncomfortable with it, use a tease. Rein in your enthusiasm from time to time and use your imagination to respond to his messages. This makes you appear easy-going and  laid back.

Do it in perfect timing.  Most people are not going to be keen on text messages after a certain hour.  If you sext somebody after 10 p.m, it’s considered a late-night booty call. A 3 a.m. text out of the blue is very unbecoming and can fall upon deaf ears only to be rendered obsolete the next morning.  Start off between 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

DON’T engage in cellular infidelity.  Save sexting for the sanctity of marriage. But if you must sext, please sext safely.  As Congressman Weiner can now attest, doing it with someone outside of your marriage or relationship is a form of cheating.

Turning a blind eye to relationship red flags will cause problems in that eventually they’ll come back to haunt you. Protect yourself so you will not end up hurt and resentful.

•  Physical and emotional abuse. If your relationship is wrecking your self-esteem or your boyfriend hurls insults and constantly makes you feel bad about yourself; if he leaves you feeling like you’re not heard; and you’re getting more criticism than praise, then it’s time to end it. A good relationship makes you feel respected and loved.

Get out at the very first strike when physical violence has surfaced. If your partner shoves, slaps pushes and kicks you and throw things at you, get out at once! Physical violence isn’t acceptable from either sex. If it happens once, it will surface again.

• Neglect and less attention. If all of a sudden he pays attention to every single thing in his life like emailing, texting, face-booking, American Idol or cleaning his garage just to keep himself from connecting with you during the week, you got problems.

If you haven’t heard from your love because he is busy with a lot of things, then he is not that into you anymore. If you’ve been together for a while and suddenly you can’t count on him to come and get you if your car breaks down, or to attend family or work events, then your relationship isn’t that solid.

• Lack or absence of intimacy. Loneliness can get a lot of us thinking after all who wouldn’t want intimacy? Often we’ll experience profound, intense, even life-altering moments with a person but then in time they fade and vanish. When your relationship has lost fire and you no longer feel emotionally connected with your partner or no longer feel the need for intimacy, it’s time to head to the front door.

• Constant bickering. Couples have problems and sometimes arguing becomes inevitable but when this becomes like an everyday affair, time to call it quits. When he begins to constantly find faults with you and the qualities that brought the two of you together are fading away; when you begin to see him not the same person you got into a relationship with, these can be signs that your relationship has gone sour. When arguments seem to be the only conclusion that any of your conversation can lead to, end the relationship now.

Loving someone doesn’t give guarantee you end up together for the rest of your lives. When you have broken up and reunited and you’re still having the same problems or different versions of the challenges, it’s probably best to end the relationship.

Genital warts or venereal warts are a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) that spread easily through skin to skin contact. These are growths on the skin of the genital area and around the anus caused by certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV).

Symptoms of genital warts include flesh-colored, soft-to-the-touch bumps on the skin that may look like the surface of a cauliflower. Often found in one place and may cluster in large masses, genital warts usually are painless but may itch.

These can sometimes be felt in your vagina or on your cervix and vulva, penis, anus or urethra for male. As unpleasant and uncomfortable as the effect may be, they are not dangerous as the type of HPV that causes genital warts do not cause cancer. However, they can cause sores and bleeding that increase risk of HIV infection.

Pregnant women with genital warts can have healthy pregnancies. Rare occurrence may happen and genital warts can be passed to a newborn during vaginal delivery, resulting to serious medical conditions for the newborn.
As our bodies fight off the virus, the warts may go away without treatment. Topical medications are available upon prescription and can be used in the comfort of your own home.

Warts can be removed with various treatments. They may be removed by cryotherapy and electrocauterization. They may also be removed with surgery or with lasers. In some cases, they are treated with injections of interferon, another type of medication.

To prevent infection, have a safe sex. Abstinence is still number one in warding off most STDs. Sexually active individuals must undergo regular checkup by medical specialists to watch out for signs of abnormal growth in their genital area.

For quite a time now they have us thinking. Arnold, Weiner and Tiger seemed to have it all – a bustling career, a beautiful house, a lovely wife and wonderful children. But their being a public figure doesn’t lend themselves well to being inconspicuous. They cheated and the public found out even before their devoted wives did.

Why do men choose to go wayward? Celebrities or not, most men have never previously seen themselves as the type to cheat. The reasons can be complex or a combination of a few different reasons. Why do they do it?

1. Flaws in personality.  Men seek to validate themselves, to feed his ego. When a man no longer feel like he is attractive to the opposite sex, he gets thrilled when a woman shows some interest. He may allow her to stroke his ego and more.

In early 70’s, a personality type was evaluated called Sensation Seeker. Those who fit in this category often get what they want disregarding risks and unremorseful of their actions. Psychologist concluded that a brain chemical is missing in the brain and reducing the feel good reactions to pleasurable stimulation.
So whether it be an overwhelming stress, marital discontentment or immaturity, when men don’t see their cheating as a problem and may feel they are entitled to cheating, their behavior can be traced to a deep-seated personality flaw.

2. Challenges in the relationship.  Weak foundation in the relationship can often result to a philandering husband. When a husband is unhappy with her mate, when she is a dripping faucet that drips and drips, when she lacks sexual desire and time for him, then he opts for the better opportunity he gets from an affair.

3. Circumstances in Life.  Midlife crisis, being unhappy in marriage, kids in the family – these are common reasons related to infidelity. Resilient individuals are tougher ones when it comes to life’s challenges and are able to cope effectively without compromising marriage vows.

Men and women cope with stress differently. Men solve problems while women talk about the problems. He may resort to an affair to stabilize his life, to fill in the void, to provide positive balance to a boring life.  The above reasons are in no way excuse for cheating.  But they can be used to make a woman understand why her husband cheated on him.