HPV Vaccine Prevents Cervical Cancer
< Jan. 9, 2008 > -- January is Cervical Health Awareness Month and there is good news on the cervical cancer front.
For the first time, there is a vaccine that can actually prevent cervical cancer.
GardasilTM targets human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer and is present in one in four American women. HPV is a virus that can cause warts. Some HPVs are sexually transmitted and cause wart-like growths on the genitals. HPV is associated with some types of cancer, such as cervical cancer.
Increasing Numbers Receive Vaccine
Healthcare providers are beginning to integrate that vaccine into the schedule of other immunizations that children receive during childhood and adolescence.
About 13 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed internationally since its approval in June 2006, says Kelley Dougherty, director of public affairs for Merck & Co., the company that created Gardasil. Of those, 10.5 million doses have been distributed in the US.
"We estimate between 3 to 5 million girls have been vaccinated with Gardasil, but that is a very rough estimate," Dougherty says. Health experts plan to use Cervical Health Awareness Month as a way to showcase the new vaccine.
Remember Your Pap Tests
They also plan to remind older women that Pap test screenings continue to be an effective way to prevent cervical cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer used to be one of the most common causes of cancer death for US women, but the death rate declined by 74 percent between 1955 and 1992. That was primarily due to an increase in the use of the Pap test, which can detect cellular changes in the cervix before cancer develops.
"Women for so many years have heard the message that they need Pap tests - it's almost equivalent to seeing a gynecologist," says Dr. Debbie Saslow, Director of Breast and Gynecologic Cancers for the American Cancer Society (ACS).
"I think for breast exams, many women wait for their doctor to recommend it, whereas for the Pap test they're more likely to go get one," comments Dr. Saslow. The death rate from cervical cancer continues to decline by nearly four percent a year, due to the Pap test.
Cervical cancer tends to occur in midlife, with half of women diagnosed between the ages of 35 and 55, according to the ACS. Under current cancer society guidelines, all women should begin cervical cancer screening about three years after they begin having vaginal intercourse but no later than age 21. Testing should be done every year with the regular Pap test or every two years using the newer liquid-based Pap test.
Beginning at age 30, most women who have had three normal Pap test results in a row can space out their screenings to every two to three years.
Another option is for women over age 30 is to get tested every three years with either the regular Pap test or liquid-based Pap test, plus the HPV test.
Most women 70 or older who have had three or more normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal Pap test results in the last 10 years can choose to stop having the test.
Doctors now believe they are poised to deal cervical cancer an additional blow, thanks to the new HPV vaccine. In the year that has followed its approval, Gardasil has been added to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccination recommendations for girls ages 11 to 12.
The vaccine, designed for females from ages 9 to 26, requires three shots taken within a six-month period. The second and third doses are given at two and six months after the first dose.
Parents should prepare your daughters. According to the CDC, the most common side effect is soreness at the injection site.
Keep in mind that girls and women who receive the HPV vaccine will still need regular cervical cancer screening. This is because the vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer. Also, some women may not receive the full benefit of the vaccine because they may have already been exposed to HPV.
Some women wonder if they or their daughters should get an HPV test or Pap test prior to receiving the vaccine. The answer is no, according to the CDC. Even though an HPV test or Pap test can identify the presence of HPV, it is unable to identify the specific type of HPV. Therefore, even patients with one HPV type can benefit from protection of other types of HPV that the vaccine affords.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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Cervical Cancer = Happy Ending
Sallie Larthridge's third pregnancy became a race against time the minute she learned of it.
She decided it was worth the risk.
It was in 2003 that Larthridge went for her annual Pap smear and it came back abnormal. Her doctor told her it was not anything to worry about yet, that a second Pap smear should hopefully come back normal. Instead, her second test revealed the cancer had spread, with more spots found on her cervix.
"When he did a second one and found out it had changed, that's when I got worried," Larthridge says. "I had no symptoms or anything. Some people get stomach pain or something."
Then things got more complicated.
She decided to fight for both the child and herself, a fight that grew more intense when she learned she was carrying a girl. She had two sons, now aged 11 and 15, but no daughter.
"I thought, 'Wow, what if I don't make it to raise my only daughter? I finally get a daughter, and I don't get to make it to raise her.' That was a difficult thing to think about," Larthridge recalls.
Larthridge saw a doctor twice a week through her entire pregnancy. A month before she was due, her doctors decided that her baby was not gaining enough weight and induced labor.
Within two days of the successful delivery, Larthridge was wheeled from her recovery room into surgery to undergo a full hysterectomy.
Her daughter, Micayla Larthridge, now is three years old, beautiful, smart, and sweet. Her mother has remained cancer-free, and is back in college getting her degree in business management.
Larthridge found help getting back to her normal routine at her local Gilda's Club. Named for Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989, the network of clubs provides emotional support to people diagnosed with cancer.
Recent research by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has found that such support is essential in fighting cancer and preventing its recurrence.
"It was wonderful to know people had experienced what I did and got over it," Larthridge said. "It was more a relief to hear other people tell their stories. You realize your situation wasn't as bad, because you think, wow, I didn't go through that."
"More than anything, it helps you relieve all that stuff that's hidden inside that you don't express to your family members because you don't want them to worry," she says.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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