Should boys be vaccinated against HPV? This is the new hot button question after the Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil use in men last week. The New York Times recently reported that advisory groups recommended boys between the ages of 9 and 25 soldier into doctor's offices and get injected with the costly, but effective, shot. Sex Does A Body Good

Gardasil, on the market since 2006, was previously just recommended for women as it protects against two strains of HPV that if undetected can lead to 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. While the shot prevents … Read More

Dating someone new means learning about each other's quirky behaviors, emotional baggage, and the past experiences that have shaped both of your lives. But what if this involves a health or medical secret you're hesitant to talk about?

Jill*, a 33-year-old from New York City, knows that finding Mr. Right also means telling him that she has bipolar disorder. Though she takes medication to manage her condition, she still lives with residual symptoms: She has trouble sleeping for more than two hours at a time, and can't shake her cigarette habit—traits that she feels a date might question.

"It's the smoking … Read More

It's a common perception that only older women get breast cancer—old enough that they don't really care if they ever have sex again. And boobs? Whatever, take 'em… They already nursed their kids and the ta-tas are just getting saggy anyway. Right?

Wrong! I'm 26, and I have cancer in my breast. And no matter what age, women still want to be treated like the gorgeous creatures we are, even when hairless, probably throwing up and left ravaged by a mastectomy.

When I discovered my lump at 24, I was nearly scoffed out of a male breast cancer specialist's … Read More

Since their wedding in 1991, John Travolta and Kelly Preston have long been seen as one of the few Hollywood couples who stay together in good times and in bad.

But in times that are really bad, Celebitchy reports via Star magazine that the pair is struggling. Since the death of their 16-year-old son Jett on January 2 of this year the pair have been said to be coping very differently with their mourning. YourTango: How To Help A Partner Grieve

John is said to be resting in seclusion at their Florida estate—in … Read More

Until the 1980s, most states required people to get a blood test in order to get a marriage license. The test, which screened for certain illnesses, like syphilis and rubella, was put in place to cut down on the spread of communicable diseases and prevent birth defects. By 2006, however, the blood test requirement was phased out everywhere U.S. except Washington D.C. and Mississippi.

Three researchers (Kasey Buckles of Notre Dame, Melanie Guldi of Mount Holyoke, and Joseph Price of Brigham Young) recently decided to find out if the elimination of the blood test had any relationship to the … Read More

It was cold the night of our first date. I pressed down on the colostomy bag that rests on my belly and collects my body's waste to make sure it was flat against my skin and pushed my hands deep into my pockets to keep them warm as I walked toward Lesleigh. My hands ached from the chill. The pain of it acted as a not-so-subtle reminder of the damage that a year of cancer treatments had done to my body. But the anxiety I felt from being out on another date overwhelmed the pain in my hands. Since … Read More

As the lefty government (liberal and southpaw*, Barry) begins to execute its agenda, reproduction (the old in and out) is going to be another contested issue. Over the last eight years funding for terrible things like condoms and great things like birth control pills has become limp (heh). Some people out there take the lesson of Onan a little too seriously and believe (on the outside) that sex is for procreation only. These people generally have rigid self-control, a "do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do-because-I-said-so-that's-why-shape-up-or-ship-out" attitude, minimal free time on their hands, a John Lithgow-like character in their lives or a combination of five. Because … Read More

The classic sex manual The Joy of Sex, which was originally released in 1972, is now available with updated illustrations, photographs, advice and insight about arousal, anatomy, pleasure, positions and sexual attitudes. British sexologist Susan Quilliam talks with YourTango about the new edition. The classic "hairy man" illustration is gone, but much of Dr. Alex Comfort's timeless sex advice and insight remains.

Andersen-Tawil Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, causes muscle weakness, heart irregularities and attacks of full blown paralysis. During an attack, I am fully conscious, can hear and feel everything, I just can't move; I literally look dead. It is a very scary thing to witness one of these attacks for the first time. My daughter and co-workers are used to the attacks having seen them many times and knowing what to expect and what to do.

In February 2007, I met a man who turned out to be an angel. As we began dating, I was upfront with him … Read More

Time to talk to your partner about safe sex and STDs! How do you approach the subject? How do you practice safe sex?