WE CAN PREVENT CERVICAL CANCER

Cancer Cervix is the 4th most common cancer among the women. In the year 2020 WHO states, more than 600,000 women are diagnosed with cervical precancers that require treatment and above 340000 deaths are caused by Cancer Cervix.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month—a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination that can help prevent certain types of cancers. HPV is preventable and eradicable.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers today. In most cases cervical cancer can be prevented through early detection and treatment of abnormal cell changes that occur in the cervix years before cervical cancer develops While there is screening for cervical cancer, there are no routine screening tests for these other types of HPV-related cancers, so they often are not detected until they cause health problems. HPV vaccination can prevent more than 90% of cancers caused by HPV from ever developing

In 2007, Australia began providing the HPV vaccine for free to girls ages 12 and 13.
Australia is on the verge of eliminating human papillomavirus (HPV) and, in turn, virtually eliminating cervical cancer cases.
In 2013, they extended the program to boys. As a result, the HPV rate among women ages 18 to 24 dropped from 22 percent to 1 percent between 2005 and 2015.

If Australia could do, why can’t we do the same? Australia’s success by destigmatizing the vaccines, funding them, and making them mandatory for all children alongside other life-saving vaccines. We too can achieve this status, if used globally, these vaccines (Cervarix, Gardasil, Gardasil 9) will result in the total disappearance of HPV and HPV-associated diseases. Protecting people from this widespread disease and its resulting cancers means educating them early on and immunizing them in their teen years.

There is now a solid evidence based practical and proven strategies that we as clinicians can incorporate in practice to achieve high HPV vaccination rates, including:

• Recommend without fail, HPV vaccine for all preteens at the recommended age of 11-12 years
• Let us effectively answer parents’ common questions about HPV vaccine
• Discuss HPV vaccination, even if parents initially decline - repeat at every visit
• Use personal examples of vaccinating one’s own children
• Share positive stories of vaccination
• Recommend HPV as other adolescent vaccines
• Implement practice-based changes
• Create awareness about how we can prevent cervical cancer through regular screening with Pap and HPV testing and vaccination
• Ensuring a consistent message throughout the office that HPV vaccination is cancer prevention

We encourage you to join us in the effort to lead our country more swiftly to ending this Cervical Cancer. Because we as obstetricians and gynecologists, care our patients and we are optimistic that we will be successful. Together, we can make a difference. We can contribute meaningfully to this unprecedented vaccination effort. Let us spread the HPV vaccine awareness, as a revolutionary therapeutic method to end the cervical cancer.