Influencer Jadé Tuncdoruk shares ‘common’ STD diagnosis

Jadé Tuncdoruk has opened up about her diagnosis with the disease and how she was “surprised to find out just how common it was”.

Jadé Tuncdoruk has revealed how her diagnosis with a common STD saw her undergo surgery on potentially-cancerous tissue.

The Sydney-based fashion influencer, who is known on Instagram as Jadé Tunchy, has been documenting her treatment on social media and told the ABC she wanted to break the stigma around having an STD.

Jadé found out she had human papillomavirus (HPV) during a cervical screening test in August after noticing abnormalities in her period.

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Jadé’s boyfriend Lachie posted this photo of her after surgery last week.

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HPV is one of the most common and usually harmless STDs, but it can cause abnormal tissue which could then develop into cervical cancer if left untreated.

In Jadé’s case, abnormal tissue was detected, with the influencer getting Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP) in hospital last week.

Jadé decided to be open about her medical journey as she “hadn’t really seen any other women speak openly about this”.

“There’s a stigma around contracting sexually transmitted viruses that scares people into silence and that silence and lack of information can actually in rare cases, be fatal,” she told the ABC.

The influencer decided to speak out after discovering how common HPV is. Picture: jadetunchy/Instagram

She wants to end the stigma around getting an STD. Picture: jadetunchy/Instagram

Jadé said she was “surprised to find out just how common it was” and the 25-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.

“My doctor told me that most cases that are detected early recover, and that youth was on my side,” she said.

In a post to her Instagram story, Jadé said it was “comforting to know” that her many of her followers have also been through the same thing after being contacted with similar stories to her own.

“It’s a lot more common than you think and it’s treatable if you catch it early,” she wrote.

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She is expected to make a full recovery.

WHAT IS HPV?

HPV usually shows no symptoms and is spread through genital contact between sexual partners.

While condoms offer some protection from HPV they don’t offer complete coverage because HPV spreads through genital skin contact.

According to the Cancer Council, HPV is responsible for almost all cases of genital warts and cervical cancer.

It also causes 90 per cent of anal cancers, 65 per cent of vaginal cancers and 60 per cent of oropharyngeal cancers.

In most causes HPV is cleared from the immune system, however, those who catch a high-risk strain can have a persistent HPV infection when can then cause abnormal cells to develop.

The HPV vaccine Gardasil protects from two high-risk HPV strains and woman aged 25 to 74 should have a cervical screening test every five years to test for HPV.