#SEXHAPPENS

Welcome back to the #SEXHAPPENS podcast, we're so excited to launch Season 2. In this episode we'll hear from Lisa and Candida, the founders of Cool Jane LLC and the #SH Podcast. Candida reflects on Season 1 and shares what's coming up in Season 2.

This is part two of a two-part episode in which we follow the life and journey of Jean Pierre. In part one we learn about his unique background and his journey with HIV. In part two we'll go into detail about his winning battle against lymphoma. Almost overnight, Jean Pierre went from being back on the dating scene to experiencing a rapidly growing tumor on his neck. Jean Pierre shares the details of the diagnosis, the treatment, and ultimately his positive attitude that helped him to stay energetic and hopeful throughout it all. We'll also discuss a life long transformation to authenticity that is the foundation for the gratitude and positivity that helped him overcome all of these "fatal strikes."

This is the first part of a two-part episode in which we learn about Jean Pierre's experience of growing up gay in rural Germany. Jean Pierre knew he was gay from a young age, but had very few opportunities to learn how to socialize as a gay man, and develop his sexuality until he started spending time in Munich. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he moved to Berlin to be part of the historic unification of the city. After a surprising turn of events, Jean Pierre found out that he was HIV+ and that as a late presenter, his immune system was significantly impacted. Thanks to modern medicine, and the work of diligent health professionals, Jean Pierre was able to return to full health. Just at the end of the episode, we hear that Jean Pierre was admitted for chemotherapy. Tune in for Part 2 to learn about his journey with Lymphoma.

In this episode, I speak to my good friend Sam who shares about his genital herpes diagnosis. We start with his first experience with a sexual health concern, where he had to investigate a mysterious rash on his penis, and finish with a funny and light-hearted discussion about the importance of reducing stigma and how not-a-big-deal herpes is. In this episode we discuss a perceived statistic about Australia having the highest number of STIs, however this is NOT accurate according to the most recent health data. The metrics for measuring this information are much more complicated, and more information can be found here: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/std-rates-by-country.

Our guest in this episode talks a lot about the limiting beliefs that made dealing with HPV and genital warts so difficult. She felt ashamed of herself to the extent that she suffered in secrecy during the most difficult parts of uncertainty, diagnosis and treatment. She eventually disclosed to a friend and was met with grace and acceptance, and has great advice to share with those who may be struggling with a similar thing. It's one thing to have to manage an STI, but it's another to do it alone and maintain a strong sense of self-worth and confidence. Sometimes the worst STI we can give another person is shame.