South Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

Free STD Testing Day

Did you see the May issue of Team Roe Times or our latest email newsletter both which contained our exciting announcement?

If not, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota will be offering a free STD testing day at both of our South Dakota clinics on June 18th!

Sioux Falls Free STD Testing Day

June 18, 2013

10:00 AM CDT - 4:30 PM CDT

6511 West 41st Street

Sioux Falls, SD 57106

Rapid City Free STD Testing Day

June 18, 2013

10:00 AM MDT - 2:00 PM MDT

619 Mountain View Road

Rapid City, SD 57702

If you are able to volunteer to help in Rapid City or Sioux Falls contact Megan. Volunteer opportunities with this event will mainly be in advance of the day. We will be looking for help getting flyers out in both Rapid City and Sioux Falls. There are some other volunteer opportunities around this event as well.

We will be offering this free testing day in conjunction with the release of our South Dakota STD Report that examines the alarming epidemic that South Dakota is currently facing.

Be watching for more information on the Free STD Testing Day, the South Dakota STD Report, and other volunteer opportunities coming soon!

 

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

May marks the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. And in the state of South Dakota this is an important month because teen pregnancy rates remain too high despite the fact that they have dropped nationally. In 2008 the pregnancy rate (number of pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19) of teens was 53. While this has dropped over the years, and in data from another source the rate was as low as 35 in 2010, this doesn’t mean South Dakota shouldn’t be cautious.

What can we do to continue to make sure that the teen pregnancy rate in South Dakota declines?

Make sure that teens in South Dakota have access to sex education and birth control first and foremost. Communication is also vital. Parents and schools need to have these conversations about sex with teens.

Get Yourself Tested Month

April marks Sexually Transmitted Diseases Awareness however, at Planned Parenthood we often refer to it as Get Yourself Tested Month. The aim of STD Awareness & GYT month is to improve education, prevention, and increase testing.

You will often see both STD and STI used when talking about this month. What is the difference? There is not really one, many prefer to use the term Sexually Transmitted Infections because of the stigma associated with the term disease.

Why is it important to Get Yourself Tested?

STIs on the Rise in South Dakota

A disturbing trend has recently come to light concerning the spread of sexually transmitted infections in South Dakota.

The South Dakota Department of Health has released the July 2012 Health and Disease Summary, a monthly report that records the numbers of reportable diseases in South Dakota from the beginning of the year through July, and compares the numbers to the average recordings found in the last five years.

 2124 cases of Chlamydia were recorded between January 1^st and July 31^st, a 24% rise from the five-year median. Numbers of HIV/AIDS have risen by 33%, and rates of gonorrhea came in 58% over the previous average.

Perhaps the most startling rise, however, comes in the recorded cases of syphilis. Nine cases of syphilis have been reported in South Dakota in 2012. However, as the disease has been so rare in the area, this is a rise of 350% from the five year median ("July 2012 Health and Disease summary").

These numbers, and the ages behind them, highlight the importance of sexual education for people of all ages, and especially among teenagers and young adults. The new cases of gonorrhea and Chlamydia are largely focused in the 15-24 year old demographic, with 185 gonorrhea cases and 1530 Chlamydia cases. The nine syphilis cases, however, are all comprised of older adults, with six cases reported in people between ages 40 and 64.

The lack of awareness and education abut safer sex is reflected in these troubling numbers. In an interview with The Daily Republic, a South Dakota publication, state epidemiologist Dr. Lon Kightlinger said “People aren’t having safe sex…[State reporting] can go a long ways to helping stop these diseases from spreading, but it is still alarming to see how this disease can start with one person and spread like a web” (Huber).

Hopefully, unfortunate numbers like this can bring about the push for greater openness and education about the spread and risks of sexually transmitted infections. Schools need to be able to give their students thorough, factual and practical information about the sexual choices they are making, and parents need to be willing to have the conversation with their children as well. Only then can the spread of these serious diseases be stemmed.

New Drug Approved for HIV Prevention

Earlier this month, the FDA approved a new drug in the fight against HIV, one that lowers the risk of transmitting the virus to a partner.  The drug, Truvada, is the first of its kind, working to prevent transmission in high risk communities before it happens. While this drug cannot totally eliminate the risk of contracting the virus, used in combination with other safe sex practices, this drug substantially alleviates the chance of contracting the virus.  One study found that correct use of the drug lowered the risk of contracting HIV by 75% in heterosexual couples and 42% in same-sex couples.  These findings mark a substantial milestone in the effort to reduce the spread of HIV.  Many in the public health community are hopeful that the approval of this drug will be able to reduce the rate at which the virus spreads.  Over the past 15 years, the rate of HIV infection has held steady at about 50,000 new cases per year in the US.

Unofficial TTRT Book Club - Any Mother's Daughter

One person who doesn’t need any persuading on the HPV vaccine issue is Bonnie Diraimondo, a Registered Nurse and longtime sufferer of vulvar, cervical and anal cancer linked to high-risk strains of HPV. In “Any Mother’s Daughter,” Diraimondo provides a brief history of the virus (jackalopes are involved!) and gets imprimatur in a forward from Dr. Harald zur Hausen, a 2008 Nobel Prize winner for his work in discovering HPV’s link to cervical cancer.

But the bulk of this book is not for the faint of heart, as Diraimondo describes the painful, grueling and endless series of treatments (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) she receives for recurring and life-threatening lesions. Diraimondo also does not spare any detail as she is cast into the nine rings of the nation’s health-care system: there are mislabeled biopsies, insensitive and judgmental remarks, out-of-network-care nightmares and chemotherapy dosage errors.

Along the way, there are some knights in shining lab coats, but they are rare. As to whether or not to have your daughter vaccinated, Diraimondo poses a blunt question: If your daughter should develop an HPV-related cancer in the future, “Can you handle being accountable for a decision which could have prevented it?”

~ Sarah T. Williams, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Planned Parenthood Recognizes National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month By Urging Women to Get Regular Checkups

Making New Year’s resolutions? As part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) is urging women in South Dakota to put preventive checkups, including cervical cancer screenings, at the top of their lists. 

Every year, approximately 13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 4,000 American women die of the disease. 

The Team Roe Times December Issue!

We are excited to present to you the SEVENTH issue of The Team Roe Times, a joint project between Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and NARAL Pro Choice South Dakota!

Packed inside this informative newsletter are details on Women 4 Women Day 2012, updates on the religious exemption for birth control coverage and the Shaheen Amendment, feminist holiday gift suggestions, the latest book in our TTRT Unofficial Book Club and SO MUCH MORE. Download Team Roe Vol 1 Issue 7 or click here to read it on the web.

AIDS Free Generation Ambitious but Possible

Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the world to create the first “AIDS free generation.” “The goal of an AIDS-free generation is ambitious, but it is possible,” she said. “An AIDS-free generation would be one of the greatest gifts the United States could give to our collective future.”

Globally, 33.4 million people are currently living with HIV/AIDS and more than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide since the first cases were reported in 1981. On this World AIDS Day 2011, 30 years after HIV/AIDS emerged as one of our greatest public health tragedies, we need to commit ourselves to working together as a planet to eradicate HIV over the next 30 years.

CDC Committee Recommends HPV Vaccines for Young Men

The initiatives being taken now to encourage boys to get vaccinated against HPV are so important. Last month, a Center for Disease Control committee recommended that males 11-21 be vaccinated against HPV. HPV affects both genders but the measures taken to safeguard against it have so far been focused on women. HPV can be the primary cause in several types of cancer, not just those affecting women. Vaccinating young men will protect them and their future partners against the fear of contracting HPV or any of the types of cancers that can be caused by HPV.