Gardisal vaccination program raises parents concerns.

Sorry for the late post- for those in the know, I think I was busy ‘nesting’ this morning. Of course, I only realised what I was up to after I  spent a couple hours bleaching and disinfecting every surface in the bathroom.  Ah, well- at least its really clean now…

Lots of talk in all the news  today about the BC governments new vaccination program for two strains of HPV that are linked to cervical cancer. The proposed program would see girls in grades six and nine receiving the shots, and timing is crucial because the shots must be administered before sexual activity begins for the first time. The two biggest protests seem to be from parents who are in denial that their kids will ever experiment sexually, and so don’t think the vaccine is appropriate, and from those who believe the vaccine hasn’t been tested nearly long enough to ensure safety.

This is how I see it.

I’m a 36 year old woman with a history of aggressive malignant cervical changes and anomalies that resulted in years of treatment in my twenties. In the end, it was recommended that I have a hysterectomy in order to ensure complete eradication of the malignant cells that were so bent on returning each time I had treatment. And those hospital visits stand out for one compelling reason- all the patients undergoing treatments like mine, were young women, most no older than thirty.

Imagine being in your mid- twenties and having to face the very real prospect of sterility, of never being able to have a child.

Imagine that I had not already had my first two children – my options for conceiving and bearing a child of my own would have been gone forever.

Thankfully, I chose – against physician recommendation- NOT to have a hysterectomy, but opted instead to remove a significant amount of my cervix.  My choice paid off, the cancerous cells were gone for good, and have yet to return many years later.

I also went on to conceive a child with my second husband, and am about to give birth to my fourth. I can’t bear to think how different my life would be this very second, had I caved in and had the hysterectomy. I don’t know if HPV was the cause of my cancerous cell changes, and I don’t know if I have it because they didn’t have the knowledge regarding HPV when I was dealing with it. My doctor says testing now would be redundant, because there is no cure for the virus if you do carry it- but in all honestly, I am curious.

Where am I going with all of this? Let me tell you. Could my experience have been prevented?

Cervical cancer is rarely talked about, and neither are PAP tests. It’s not a fashionable and PR promotable cancer, unlike breast cancer, or leukemia. Because it can kill you before you even know you have it, it’s incredibly deadly, and used to be a number one killer of women before PAP tests were routine. This is why women – and girls- need to be educated without embarrassment and shame. Sure, PAP tests aren’t comfortable, and for some, they can be embarrassing, but they WILL save your life.

The discovery that a sexually transmitted virus could be the cause of cervical cancer was significant for so many reasons, and yet it added a new shame for women- was this an STD? Could you get cancer from having sex ?

The answer is yes, and this is why early vaccination is key to the success of possibly reaching a cure for cancer- at least cervical cancer.  A cure. No more chemo, no more radiation, no more radical surgery…. no more death. No more young women living through an experience that may have been preventable.

If you are a parent of a school age girl reading this story, think about it. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what might happen.  You can do the best job ever of raising your child, but you cant stop her from one day having sex. You just can’t. I guarantee you its going to happen. Have you talked with her about safe sex? About condoms? About STD’s and HIV? If you have, good on you, but the majority of parents don’t want to talk about it.

Hopefully she’ll use protection, but maybe she wont. Maybe she’ll get HPV. Maybe she’ll miss some PAP tests, and then when she finally gets back in to have one- BOOM. Shes got cancer, cervical cancer.  Maybe they’ll catch it early, maybe not. You may not have grand kids.

There are risks with everything, and I don’t like drugs that are rushed through to approval for moneymaking purposes anymore than you do – but I do support a chance to change life for millions of girls and women if I can. I believe this vaccine may be the way to do it.

It’s your job as a parent to look at all sides of a choice, but please, don’t stick your head in the sand on this one. This is not the time to get all righteous about how  ’your girl won’t do it and doesn’t need to know.’

She will - and she does.

I’m sharing my story with you in the hopes that you will learn how life-altering this disease can be. I’m not embaressed to talk about it , because If I can help spare one woman, or one girl from the  same emotional and physical anguish I went through, I will not have shared in vain.

Show your daughter how much you love her and find out more before you just say no. You may not be only saving her future, but your grandchildrens too…

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/06/bc-hpv-vaccine-program-concerns.html

http://www.hpvinfo.ca/hpvinfo/home.aspx?gclid=CLi_pcPakpMCFSkziQodXTV3vw