Hopefully she can have the future she dreams of.... hopefully

LaNell Richard is the coordinator for our "No Regrets" program.  Give her a call if you or your teen are interested in hearing more about "No Regrets".  If you are outside the Coachella Valley area, LaNell will try to connect you with a program near you!!  

LaNell Richard



She was 17 and scared when she came into the Crisis Pregnancy Center.   She had been to a doctor several months before, and was diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer caused by HPV (human papillomavirus).   I sat and listened to this beautiful young girl as she told me her plans and dreams.  She wants to go to college, to pursue a career in nursing.   She is looking forward to marriage and children some day.  What is her reality now?  She most likely can go to college . . . hopefully her cancer can be effectively treated, although there is no cure for her HPV.  She can still marry a wonderful man. . . hopefully he’ll understand when she has to tell him that she has an incurable STD which she will most likely pass on to him.  Hopefully, she has not contracted another of the over 25 STDs; she now has an increased risk of other sexually transmitted infections, which often have no symptoms but can cause her to become sterile, or worse.  Hopefully, she can be a mother and have children of her own some day . . . hopefully.   

Currently, there are over 15,000,000 new cases of sexually transmitted infections every year ~ most are in people ages 15-24.  One in four adolescents has an STD and many of them don’t even know it.  At Crisis Pregnancy Center, we are passionate about helping educate young people about the risks of sexual activity outside of a committed relationship.  We have a program called NO REGRETS which gives teenagers tools to help make positive choices.  If you are an educator, youth pastor, parent, or young person yourself who would like more information, please contact us at 760-568-2200 or lanell@choiceline.org.  We want this generation to realize their dreams . . . hopefully without worry of unplanned pregnancy or STDs. 

LaNell Richard