Re: Cervical Cancer month
- From: bae@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 27 Jan 2006 16:41:26 GMT
In article <43utl5F1oiv6kU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
DrQuilter <mvignali@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>thanks for the reminder kate. are you sure you should only get the test
>if you are over 30 though? I think HPV is quite prevalent among young
>sexually active women...
The problem with the HPV test is that the results aren't very useful.
If you test positive, you still don't have all that high a risk of
cervical cancer, but you should still get regular Paps. If you test
negative, you still have some risk of cervical cancer, and may become
infected with HPV at any time, so you should still get regular Paps.
So all the test does is increase your worries if you are positive, and
make you more likely to ignore the need for Paps if you are negative.
The more interesting development is a new vaccine against the more
dangerous strains of HPV. It appears to be quite effective, and if
every girl were vaccinated at e.g. 12 years old, cervical cancer would
become extremely rare. Cervical cancer is a major cause of death in
middle-aged women in poor countries, as it was in developed countries
before the Pap test became available.
I've heard that some fundamentalist groups in the US are opposing the
introduction of this vaccine because they believe it will encourage
premarital sex. Personally, I think this is completely irrational,
since knowledge of the much stronger link between smoking and lung
cancer doesn't seem to have much effect on preventing teens from
starting to smoke. Certainly a small risk of cervical cancer 20 or 30
years down the road isn't going to affect teen behaviour when the much
more real and immediate risk of AIDS, other STDs that can cause
infertility, and unwanted pregnancies don't.
Note also that plenty of chaste women have been infected with STDs
including HPV by their spouses, or by rapists. The same argument of
"disease discourages vice" was used to oppose development of treatments
for syphilis 100 years ago, and the same chaste women (and men, and
children) were its victims. So even if you believe that disease is a
punishment for, rather than a consequence of certain behaviours,
there's no shortage of innocent victims.
At any rate, every woman should get regular Pap tests, even if she is
no longer sexually active, since cervical cancer can develop as long
as fifty years after infection with HPV, some cervical cancer occurs
in women who have never had any HPV exposure, and cervical cancer is
more likely to develop rapidly in older women and in women who are
immunocompromised by age, certain types of prescription drugs, or
other medical problems. If detected early, as a precancerous lesion,
cervical cancer can be stopped by a simple office procedure. Later
it may require surgery, or even become untreatable.
If the vaccine becomes available in your area, I'd recommend you have
your daughters vaccinated. I would if I had daughters.
.
- References:
- Cervical Cancer month
- From: Kate T.
- Re: Cervical Cancer month
- From: DrQuilter
- Cervical Cancer month
- Prev by Date: Re: Liberty fabric
- Next by Date: Re: Squishie Question
- Previous by thread: Re: Cervical Cancer month
- Next by thread: Need a few more "SWEET" swappersd HURRY!!
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
