Leaf-ing the "tree man" behind

You may remember Dede, the Indonesian "tree man" I wrote about back in November? Turns out he's on the path to recovery!

Dede Kosawa, 36, had sprouted grotesque tree-like growths on his hands and feet due to a rare strain of Human Papilloma Virus [click here to read his story]. He returned home in August after months of extensive treatment, which included chemotherapy and grueling surgery to remove 12 pounds of warts. (And he only weighed 100 pounds total.)

Check out the before and after:

American dermatologist Anthony Gaspari was moved by Dede's story and traveled to Indonesia to learn more. On Sunday at 9 p.m., Discovery Health will premiere Treeman: Search for the Cure, which documents Gaspari's efforts.

Teenage STDs--WTF?

A CDC study this week found that 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STD. And when we say 'teenage,' we mean 14-19.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here when I say that I find this extremely disturbing. You're like, in 8th grade and you have an STD? I don't even think knew what sex was at that age. And I'm pretty sure I didn't learn about STDs until senior year of high school.

About half of the girls studied acknowledged having sex. And one in four has an STD? That's like, a lot. And they were only testing for four STDs...

HPV, which is the leading cause in cervical cancer, was found to be most prevalent among the girls studied. And despite a recent outpouring of HPV prevention and awareness campaigns, parents need to wise up to the times and teach their kids what's up. Hopefully these numbers will serve as a wake-up call because kids are having sex way too young and being completely irresponsible.

...and let me tell you, I didn't even attempt to find a good picture to illustrate this point. I had enough problems studying my health textbook senior year.


Thanks, Dave.