March may be cold, but it's hot and heavy here at OnMilwaukee.com as we celebrate our first-ever Sex Week. We're taking a mature look at local video and sex toy shops, area strip clubs, sexy Milwaukee events -- and even some connections between Brew City and Playboy magazine. It's serious, responsible, adult-themed content -- but don't worry, parents, we'll keep it PG-13 in case junior stumbles upon these stories as OnMilwaukee.com turns a pale shade of blue for seven days.

When Dina Gruber had abnormal results on her pap test and was diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV) in the form of genital warts in November of 2005, she was completely shocked. Gruber, then 35, had been practicing safe sex, using condoms 100 percent of the time, and still contracted HPV.

"As a society, we're so focused on AIDS, and the fear of transmitting infected body fluid, that we still think condoms will protect us from all STDS, and they don't," says Gruber.

HPV is spread through casual skin-to-skin contact, which means it can be contracted during foreplay or even just snuggling. There are more than 100 strains of HPV, a few of which cause genital warts and/or cervical cancer. (Note: Only 1 percent of women who contract HPV will get cancer.)

When Gruber shared her diagnosis with friends, some assured her that it would be easy to treat. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Because Gruber's virus worsened very quickly -- she went from a "level one" to a "level three" within two months ("level five" is full-blown cancer) -- and had two LEEP procedures during which a thumb-sized portion of her cervix was removed with a heated metal loop. Plus, her wart outbreaks continued to worsen, even though she was refraining from sex and applying a doctor-prescribed cream.

"(My vagina) looked like a sea creature. It was horrifying," she says.

It's difficult to glean information from HPV statistics because most of them vary greatly. However, it is believed that most people encounter one of the many strains of HPV during their lifetime and fight it off naturally, or they carry it for their entire lives without a single outbreak.

Both men and women can transmit HPV, but at this point, only women can get tested for the virus.

Dr. Julie Webb, an OBGYN at Columbia-St. Mary's, explains that it's difficult to screen men for the virus because the test involves swabbing the urethra, and many of the HPV cells get flushed out every time a man urinates. Women, on the other hand, are swabbed in the cervix, which provides more accurate results.

"We're able to diagnose HPV in women earlier because of pap tests," says Webb. "We didn't know the correlation between HPV and the pap until relatively recently."

Experts are unsure why some women are more susceptible to the virus than others, but smoking cigarettes is believed to increase a woman's chance of getting HPV.

In general, there is still a lot of gray area surrounding HPV, as well as the vaccination, Gardasil, that protects against four strains of the virus, including types 16 and 18 that cause 70 percent of HPV-related cervical cancer cases.

The FDA approved Gardasil in June of 2006 for women who are between the ages of 9 and 26. The somewhat confusing Gardasil ad campaign "One Less" encouraged women to get the vaccine so they would be one less person with cervical cancer.

Should a woman over the age of 26 consider the vaccination? According to Webb, women of any age should consider the vaccination if they are not in a monogamous, long-term relationship. Unfortunately, however, most insurance companies won't cover the cost -- which is roughly $500 -- for women older than 26.

"It definitely can be beneficial for women outside of the age range," says Webb.

Because HPV spreads so rampantly and isn't preventable through contraception, it's possible that many peoples' sexual behavior will decrease. And because men cannot get tested at this point, many women could become uneasy with the concept of casual sex.

"I felt so much shame, especially since I was 35 years old and had contracted my first STD," says Gruber. "When I was first diagnosed, I thought I could never have sex again. I wanted to have a funeral for my (vagina)."

Gruber still hasn't received a clean bill of health, and because the disease is still relatively "new," proper support networks are not in place. Gruber says she is yet to find an HPV-specific support group for women like herself who have a strain that could lead to cancer. One local support group combines people with herpes and HPV, but Gruber says the two diseases are very different because a person could potentially die from HPV.

"In my case, HPV is not just an STD," she says. "My mortality is attached to it. The bottom line is that I might get cancer ... This isn't the case with herpes."

Currently, Gruber is working towards starting an HPV support group. She is trying to move beyond her depression, shame and anger, and do something to educate the public about HPV -- which is still confusing to a lot of people.

"For women who have cancer-causing strains of HPV, I want them to know they are not alone, and that help is on the way," she says. "Through education, and giving HPV a voice, hopefully other women won't have to go through what I did."