Fifteen-year-old Dolores was embarrassed to talk with her mother about the pain she felt in her “private parts,” but she was worried she might have gotten a disease, despite Nick’s assurance that she was his “first.” Her mother insisted that Dolores see a doctor, who discovered cervical lesions caused by a virus associated with cancer.

• What specific sexually transmitted virus is involved?
• How does the virus cause cancer?
• How should the physician treat the lesions?
• How could Dolores have protected herself?