By: Mamaluv

A cancer that is caused by a virus. Did you know about this? I was shocked to hear, and so I took it upon myself to spread the word.

Cervical cancers the word, and the primary cause is HPV, Human papillomavirus. Yearly almost 6 million women in the US are infected with this virus, 10,000 will develop cervical cancer and over 3,700 will die of this disease. HPV is an STD; the American Cancer Society estimates that over 50% of sexually active Americans will become infected with at least one form of this virus at some point in their life. Health Canada assesses the risk of lifetime infection at 75% for Canadians.

Here's the 411 on HPV. There are over 100 different strains, but only some will cause cancer. There are a variety of other health outcomes including genital warts that may result from HPV infection. In most women, HPV can clear on its own, but many carry it symptom-free and are able to pass it on to their partners. Some women will only find out they are infected when their Pap smear tests come back positive for abnormal cervical cell growth. There is no known cure. Preventative measures such as condom use are not very effective, since HPV is harbored in the entire genital area and is passed by contact. The only ways to reduce your risk for cervical cancers are to limit the number of your sexual partners, use barrier protection, don't smoke, and don't use the Pill.

There's good news in sight. In June 2006, a new vaccine called Gardasil® was approved by the FDA for use in girls and women ages 9-26*. Further research is being conducted to develop a vaccine for women over 26. The main reason for the age range is to target women who have had none or very limited sexual experience. Gardasil® protects against 4 strains of HPV, which together account for 70% of all cervical cancers and 90% of genital wart outbreaks. Women already infected with the types of HPV targeted by the new vaccine cannot be cured by the vaccine, nor will Gardasil® affect existing cervical cancer. The word here is prevention. Studies show girls and women vaccinated before coming into contact with the targeted forms of HPV may have nearly 100% protection against those forms.

Other forms of HPV not targeted by the vaccine represent the remaining 30% cancer risk and 10% genital wart risk. Because of this, recipients of the vaccine need to receive annual Pap tests punctually, as do all women. Statistics indicate that as many as 1/3 of eligible women do not have Pap smears done regularly, even though 90% of cervical cancers could be detected early by this test.

Ask your doctor for more information and please, tell your friends.

Educate yourself more about this important issue: http://www.webmd.com/hw/uterine_cervical_cancer/tw9601.asp

*Since June 2006, Gardasil has also been approved for use in Canada, Australia, Mexico, the European Union, and other countries.


Mamaluv is a ChickAdvisor member, a mother of 3 and environmentalist who enjoys manicures, massages and margaritas (on occasion).