‘HPV vaccine critical to preventing cancer’
What role would you say your NGO is playing in sensitizing women on the management of cancer? Our NGO was established out of a burden to reduce what you could call female cancers. There has been an increase in cases of breast and cervical cancer in the country. Breast cancer is no less a disease […]
What role would you say your NGO is playing in sensitizing women on the management of cancer?
Our NGO was established out of a burden to reduce what you could call female cancers. There has been an increase in cases of breast and cervical cancer in the country. Breast cancer is no less a disease that should be prevented, cervical cancer is one that can easily be dealt with because its pre-cancer stage can take as long as 10-15 years. So, if caught early it can be prevented. Also cervical cancer can be detected with a non invasive, simple test. Also there is treatment for women who are detected in the pre-cancer stage, just as there is a vaccine that protects little girls from the disease. Therefore, our goal is to add to what government is doing in the area of women’s health especially in preventing cervical cancer. Most women don’t have the right information about cancer and that is why they are afraid of going for screening. And government cannot be everywhere. But NGOs like ours can take the message of hope to the rural areas and the urban poor, to let them know that they can get free cervical screening even outside the formalities of hospitals and should there be signs of cancer (pre-cancer lesion), they can be treated.
How would you explain what this treatment for women in the pre-cancer state entails?
Cancer of the cervix is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) . Usually the virus is transmitted sexually. It is in fact one of the most common Sexually Transmitted Infections. It is believed that at some point in life 80 to 90 percent of individuals will develop the virus and luckily for some the body will clear it naturally. But for others who are not so lucky, the virus will persist in them and start causing changes. One of the ways of detecting the changes in the cervix is the Pap Smear test. But to do this test, you would need skilled hands, equipments and this can be challenging in a low income (resource) setting, though with the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (V.I.A) it can be done. If it is found that a woman had pre-cancer lesion, there is a treatment with ninety percent success rate. It is called the Cryotherapy treatment which simply means, freezing part of the body. In freezing a part of the body you destroy both the normal and cancerous cells. While the good cells will re-grow, the cancer cells will not. Suffice to say that the treatment is simply administered within ten minutes with a kind of hand held gun- like device.
Are lifestyle choices important in the prevention of cervical cancer?
There are some risk factors when it comes to lifestyle choices. For example, girls who are exposed to sex at a young age or are initiated to sex early are more at risk. You can imagine that in most cases, it is much older men who initiate young girls to sex. Women who have more than five children are more at risk due to the changes that occur in the cervix. Then, women who smoke are more at risk. And those who use hormonal contraceptives for a long time are equally at risk. Consistent use of condoms can protect women from being infected with the HPV virus. But I want to mention again that the best way to deal with cervical cancer is for young girls and women to be vaccinated and the women be screened regularly.
Is safe sex effective in preventing cancer of the cervix?
Like I said, there are various means of transmission. But sex remains the easiest way of transmitting the virus. Safe sex is always advised, but it has been found that the man’s scrotum harbors the HPV virus. So condom use doesn’t give 100 percent protection, though it gives a good level of protection. It is therefore better advised that girls between the age of 9-13 are vaccinated because it is believed that they have not started having sexual relationships. When they take the vaccine, they have as much as 80 percent protection. Should incase they ever come across the (two most common strains) of the virus, their bodies will fight it. Research has also shown that if girls are vaccinated it reduces by 50 percent overall cases in any setting. But even with the vaccination, when the girls become sexually active women, they still have to undergo regular screening.
Is the HPV vaccine readily available and how would you rate the level of awareness on its availability?
Well, the level of awareness on this vaccine is quite low. In most cases, its mainly those who have lost someone that know what causes cervical cancer. Government is trying to introduce the HPV vaccine into the national immunisation schedule. But we don’t know how long it will take. In most states, the vaccine is available. But it just might be a bit costly for some parents. And that’s why NGOs like mine would be doing a lot of good by coming out to get girls immunised, so that money doesn’t prevent them from living healthy lives. But for people we might not be able to reach for now, I advise that they get their daughters immunised and see their expenditure as an investment in the life of their daughters.
What is your take on the efficacy of the HPV vaccine for women who don’t have the chance to be vaccinated as girls, but have taken the vaccine as adults?
Well, there are divergent views on this because it has been argued that the ideal investigation for cervical cancer is the HPV- DNA (test) to detect the particular strain of HPV the woman is infected with. Based on the strain of the virus detected through the DNA structure test, the doctor can advise if the woman can take the vaccine. For now in Nigeria, we should make do with what we have. We need to be aggressive about getting more women vaccinated against the HPV virus. This is because it has also been identified as a factor in throat, vulva and virginal cancer. Also studies have shown that even up to the age of 50, the HPV vaccine can be effective.