“I can’t get pregnant.” The case of Susan A. Susan’s case is an object lesson about the value of safe sex practices and of preventive medicine. Her sexual habits were virtually certain to result in...

“I can’t get pregnant.” The case of Susan A.

Susan’s case is an object lesson about the value of safe sex practices and of preventive medicine. Her sexual habits were virtually certain to result in her obtaining a sexually transmitted disease. She actually contracted at least two: PID and HPV infection, each of which had serious consequences. She was both fortunate and unfortunate. She was fortunate that her cervical cancer was found while it was still in situ, before it became invasive. Had she waited longer, it could have become invasive and at the least claimed her uterus and prevented any hope of an IVF pregnancy; at worst, it could have claimed her life. She was unfortunate that early and frequent unprotected sex with multiple partners produced sexually transmitted PID and HPV infection. The former developed into the chronic tuboovarian abscesses that rendered her infertile, and the latter produced cervical dysplasia/CIS, which ultimately led to hysterectomy but not before a successful IVF pregnancy.