PROTECTING WOMEN OF YOUR FAMILY FROM CERVICAL CANCER-NOW POSSIBLE EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CANCER AND ITS VACCINE

PROTECTING WOMEN OF YOUR FAMILY FROM CERVICAL CANCER-NOW POSSIBLE,
EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CANCER AND ITS VACCINE

•          Cervical Cancer is the most common cancer affecting Indian women

•          It is a preventable disease

•          You can protect yourselves and your daughters and be almost 100% safe with a combination of vaccination and screening

What are cancer cells

All the cells in the body are multiplying and doing their special function. After their life cycle , they die out.

Cancer cells neither die out, nor do they differentiate to do the special task of the organ

What causes Cervical Cancer?

•          A virus-HPV(Human Papilloma Virus) is the most common reason

              HPV 16 & HPV 18 are the two viral types which cause>75% of Cervical Cancer

                   

       Large number  of women get HPV infection sometime during life time (80% by the age of 50).

•          There are no symptoms – you may not know you have it

•           Majority would clear infection without developing any disease.

•           Few women develop precancerous lesions and cervical cancer over a period of time (few months to 9 years).

We don’t know which ones will!

                                           

Cervical Cancer is the commonest cancer in Indian Women

-200 women die every day in India

-8 women die every hour

-1 woman every 7 minutes

What are the Symptoms of Cervical Cancer?

•          Usually no symptoms in early stage

•          When advanced, there can be the following symptoms:

•          A little bleeding between periods

•          Bleeding  after sexual intercourse

•          Abnormal vaginal discharge

•          Sometimes – pain during intercourse/Continuous/Low back-ache

•          Unexplained loss of weight

•          Treatment options depend on stage of cancer, age of patient and desire to have children

•          Surgical treatment  may include removing the diseased part of the uterus in early stage cancer & removing whole of uterus along with other organs of pelvis in advanced stage as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

How can you protect yourself

Awareness, vaccination, screening

What you should know about screening: “PAP’s smear

-A smooth, sterilized instrument is gently inserted to see the cervix

-A small spatula or brush is swiped across the cervix to loosen cells

-The brush is smeared on a clean glass slide

-The slide is later examined by an expert to spot abnormal cells

                     

What you should know about vaccination

Vaccination is the only true form of “prevention” – stops the disease from happening in the first place

•          There are two vaccines available today:

•          Quadrivalent (“four type”)

•          Protects from type- 6,11,16,18 of HPV virus

•          Bivalent (“two type”)

•          Protects from type- 16, 18 of HPV virus

•          How does the vaccine work?

It gets your body to produce antibodies against the HPV virus. These antibodies protect your body from an HPV infection by,fighting the virus when it tries to attack the cervix.

•          Who should take the vaccine and when?

Ideally, the vaccine should be taken as early as possible after the age of 9 years but girls and women of any age up to 45 can benefit from this vaccine.

Expectant mothers should not take the vaccine during their pregnancy.

•          What is the dose schedule of the vaccine?

The quadrivalent vaccine is given in three doses as follows:

       Now       2 months                       6 months

          I               I                                I        

The bivalent is given in a similar schedule at 0,1 and 6 months.

•          How soon will the protection work?

Usually, the full protection comes into effect usually within a month of the last dose. It is important to complete the schedule.

•          What about side effects?

The vaccines have been studied and is safe and well tolerated.

By

Dr Himani Gupta

MBBS,DGO

Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 

Ph: +917506027299
Email - mygynaecworld@gmail.com
Web- www.mygynaecworld.com
Mother n Care Clinic.
Shri Row House.
F 44/30. Sector -12,Kharghar,Pin-410210
Near Shivaji Chowk

Navi Mumbai(Maharashtra)