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Congress has designated January as Cervical Health Awareness Month. It's an effort to remind women to
- Pap test regularly, once a year after age 21
- Test for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), THE cause of cervical cancer
- Get vaccinated against HPV if under age 26.
My guest is Erin Zabel of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia, one of several local and national health organizations that are supporting Cervical Health Awareness Month. Erin talks at length about the HPV vaccines Gardisil and Cervarix, which can stop infection of the strains of HPV that cause the vast majority of cervical cancer cases.
Erin says cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, but only if steps are taken early in life. The virus that causes it is widespread; an estimated 75% of sexually active Americans ages 15 to 49 carry it. The HPV vaccines are recommended for females under age 26. In Virginia, state law mandates that girls get the HPV vaccine before they enter sixth grade, but parents can opt out of the requirement. The vaccine has also been approved for use in boys to guard against genital warts. Boys in Virginia are not required to get the vaccine, however.
I will take a moment here to address the fact that Planned Parenthood is controversial for the services they offer in abortion, which is one of the most divisive political issues we have. We don't discuss abortion in Sunday's segment, but in prior interviews, Zabel has pointed out that abortions amount to only 3% of the services offered by Planned Parenthood. She realizes that abortion is a stigma that the organization must work through to provide the other 97% of its services, which include family planning, birth control, and public outreach and education, such as this week's appearance on Hampton Roads Topics. Zabel adds that if abortion were outlawed today, Planned Parenthood would still be there, providing those other services.
Links:
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia
Virginia Immunization Requirements
WebMD's report on HPV
Report on the study on teen HPV vaccine beliefs
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