Porn Valley- Gen Padova was on the Sports Swami show today talking about her bout with cancer https://www.adultfyi.com/read.aspx?ID=1988 which she’s been battling off and on for eight years. But even with that, Summer Haze is a tough act to follow. “A big ordeal,” said Padova, not talking about Haze’s preceding interview but her own medical condition. “It happens.”

Asked what was running through her mind the day she was told the cancer returned, Padova said when she heard about it, she was in Vegas and pissed off. “I was in the middle of checking into my room,” she said. “My doctor was telling me there was no reason for me to be out in Vegas for a week and a half. You need to come back home and need to get started [with treatments]. I was there’s no way in hell I can leave right now. I made promises.”

Padova made compromises and ended up leaving less than a week later. “I was kind of pissed off and was crying. But sometimes it seems like life repeats itself and I’m used to that. In some ways I see it as no big deal. It’s something that I have to do. It’s an extra responsibility I have to take.”

Padova told her doctor that there was no way that she was going through chemotherapy again. “I told him that I’d rather just give up. Chemo is just worst than dealing with cancer itself.” As an alternative, Padova’s doctor recommended immune therapy.

“I don’t know why chemotherapy even exists to this day,” says Padova. “Immune Therapy is awesome. I don’t get bruised up really bad and I’m not losing all the hair on my body and on my head or anything like that. I don’t feel as exhausted as I did when I did chemotherapy. I’m not constantly throwing up as much as I used to so it’s really awesome. I’ve been been able to live a semi-normal life. It’s great. Radiation hasn’t hit me as hard as it did when I was doing chemo at the same time. I’ve been lucky. I was told I’m young and my body’s strong.”

Padova’s mother, among family members, has been there for her. “But I don’t like to constantly give her details because she has her own things to deal with,” she says. “I kind of hold really well on my own. And then I’ve got Joey, my manager who’s always there for me if I need something.”

Noting that Padova was still with Joey Serio’s Adult Staffing Services, Swami was curious why besides her friendship with Serio and Lainey Baron. Padova was with a few other people prior but says Serio always seems to do his job.

Padova: “There are times when I do feel down and icky and he’s always the one there that is positive and gets me back on my feet, ‘Gen, you’ll pull through- you’ll do okay.’ He knows when and not to have me shoot. I tell him that I’m feeling great this week so far and he’ll get me a shoot if I feel up to it. He actually does his job versus someone that takes on some of the girls and doesn’t know what to do with him. That’s why I’ve kind of stuck with him.”

Asked what she’s sacrificed in her fight, Padova laughed, “Lots of money! I’ve sacrificed a whole boatload of money.” As an example, Padova mentions that in 2002, she spent over $50,000 in medical bills for treatment. “Last year wasn’t so bad because I was in remission for nine or ten months and only had to pay about $15,000 in medical bills. So far this year I’m already past the point of $15,000 after four months. Most of the money goes to my medical bills. It’s not fun because money is life.”

Asked her views on the HIV crisis, Padova talked about the talent meeting she went to last week.

“They did have six government health officials there from CDC to LA County Health dept. to OSHA and NIOSH,” she went on to say. “If they do decide to crack down on the industry and improve it, so to speak, instead of trying to mandate everything in just California- it wouldn’t make any sense that way- they would have to do it nationally. Because companies are already thinking about leaving California and go against it.”

Padova believes that the adult industry should also encourage drug testing.

Padova: “For people like myself who don’t do drugs, I enjoy doing pornography. When I show up on a set and there’s a girl shooting up or taking some pills, whatever, that she shouldn’t be doing, that makes me want to leave and have to leave because if anything were to happen, I would also be involved. And I don’t want to take those chances. And it really isn’t fair to anyone else that doesn’t do drugs on set. It would also be interesting to see what people would sacrifice the illegal drugs to remain in the adult industry and bring in the type of income they’re used to. And it can also give clean people a chance to be a part of the adult industry. That way we can get things back to the way they used to be, more people doing it because they enjoy it rather than those that need to take a couple of pills to get them by. Hopefully they’ll take that into consideration, somehow, some way.”

Padova said the HIV situation hasn’t affected her in any way, emotionally, mentally or physically.

“I’m a bio-chemistry major,” she says. “I’ve worked in laboratories and doctors’ offices before. I’ve seen things happen every day. I’ve had to tell people bad news on a regular basis. So it really doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is how the media tends to kind of blow it into a bigger proportion than it really is. Because there’s people by the thousands, if not millions, every day in America that are testing positive for HIV as opposed to just a few people in the adult industry alone. And it’s not like this happens every few months. It’s happens every so few years. It has been statistically proven that those who have sex in the adult industry are having safer sex three times more than the average American who would go out to a bar, meet somebody, go out and have a one-night stand. And that happens all the time.

“It hasn’t affected me,” Padova continues. “It makes me more aware, of course, and trying to make an extra effort to take care of myself and be a little more cautious. But also, it’s a way to make others aware who are not aware of STDs. And who are not aware of all the other STDs out there that are possible. It always takes a huge tragedy to make a lot of people aware of something, sad to say, but that’s just how it always happens in life.”

Padova has sold her website. “They are in the process of building the website,” she said. “I was told it should be up in a week or two. But I have nothing to do with it, though.” But that doesn’t stop Padova from still getting requests for autographed pictures. “I’m still in the process of trying to get a decent photograph to sign for everybody.” But she suggests including a postage paid envelope for such endeavors.

Swami attempted to tie Padova into a love rumor concerning one of the L.A. Dodgers but Padova said she still has the same boyfriend.

“The only difference between the two of us is that he moved out a couple of weeks ago.” she said. “So that I can have my own time to myself and get some peace going on in my life so I can get better, quicker, and concentrate on my health. Living with boyfriend- on a nutritious level- is not a good thing. That boy will eat red meat every single day, three to five times a day.”