Grey's Preventable Cancer
The lesson from last night's Grey's Anatomy? Don't let one of the most preventable cancers get you!
In last night's episode there was a young girl who was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. She likely didn't have proper cervical cancer screening and she didn't follow up on an abnormal Pap smear because she had no health insurance (a great topic for another week).
With a Pap smear and the recently approved human papillomavirus -- HPV -- vaccine (more on this later), your weapons against cervical cancer have never been better.
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 11,000 women will develop cervical cancer in 2007 and about a third of those will die. Thankfully the rates of cervical cancer have dropped significantly over the last 50 years largely due to increased screening with the Pap smear.
I fully understand -- even though I'm not a woman -- that the Pap smear is one of the most unpleasant medical exams a woman should have. Some women may put the mammogram above the Pap smear on the list of worst medical tests due to the pain it can cause.
But the Pap smear is also one of the most effective screening tests. It can detect precancerous cells before they have a chance to develop into invasive cervical cancer. It can also find cervical cancer in its early stages when it is nearly 100% curable.
In other words, a few minutes of unpleasantness -- I know, easy for me to say but at least men have that little rectal exam thing we have to deal with for our prostates -- can save your life.
So what about the HPV vaccine? This is truly the first vaccine we've had to prevent cancer. It's a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the cause of most cervical cancers.
Experts believe the vaccine -- called Gardasil -- will help prevent 70% of cervical cancers. The vaccine is recommended for girls 11 to 12 -- before they become sexually active.
HPV is a common sexually transmitted virus (certain strains can also cause genital warts). That's why it's best to get the vaccine before becoming sexually active. The American Cancer Society just released a report saying that the vaccine may be given to girls as young as 9.
Girls 13 to 18 should be given a "catch-up" vaccine if they never received their vaccine, or did not complete the three-shot series.
However, unlike the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Cancer Society (ACS) does not recommend routine vaccination for women 19 to 26. Confused? Talk to your doctor and the two of you can decide if the HPV vaccine is right for you -- or your daughter.
In addition, here's what you should do regarding the Pap smear -- or at least what I hope you will do:
In last night's episode there was a young girl who was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. She likely didn't have proper cervical cancer screening and she didn't follow up on an abnormal Pap smear because she had no health insurance (a great topic for another week).
With a Pap smear and the recently approved human papillomavirus -- HPV -- vaccine (more on this later), your weapons against cervical cancer have never been better.
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 11,000 women will develop cervical cancer in 2007 and about a third of those will die. Thankfully the rates of cervical cancer have dropped significantly over the last 50 years largely due to increased screening with the Pap smear.
I fully understand -- even though I'm not a woman -- that the Pap smear is one of the most unpleasant medical exams a woman should have. Some women may put the mammogram above the Pap smear on the list of worst medical tests due to the pain it can cause.
But the Pap smear is also one of the most effective screening tests. It can detect precancerous cells before they have a chance to develop into invasive cervical cancer. It can also find cervical cancer in its early stages when it is nearly 100% curable.
In other words, a few minutes of unpleasantness -- I know, easy for me to say but at least men have that little rectal exam thing we have to deal with for our prostates -- can save your life.
So what about the HPV vaccine? This is truly the first vaccine we've had to prevent cancer. It's a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the cause of most cervical cancers.
Experts believe the vaccine -- called Gardasil -- will help prevent 70% of cervical cancers. The vaccine is recommended for girls 11 to 12 -- before they become sexually active.
HPV is a common sexually transmitted virus (certain strains can also cause genital warts). That's why it's best to get the vaccine before becoming sexually active. The American Cancer Society just released a report saying that the vaccine may be given to girls as young as 9.
Girls 13 to 18 should be given a "catch-up" vaccine if they never received their vaccine, or did not complete the three-shot series.
However, unlike the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Cancer Society (ACS) does not recommend routine vaccination for women 19 to 26. Confused? Talk to your doctor and the two of you can decide if the HPV vaccine is right for you -- or your daughter.
In addition, here's what you should do regarding the Pap smear -- or at least what I hope you will do:
- Have a Pap smear about 3 years after the first time you had sex -- but no later than 21 years old. Depending on the type of test used, the Pap smear should be repeated every 1 to 2 years.
- Once you're 30 and have had 3 normal Pap smears in a row, most women can get tested every 2 to 3 years. Testing should continue throughout life.
- The American Cancer Society also says it's reasonable for women over 30 to get tested every 3 years if they have Pap smear plus testing for the HPV virus.
- Women 70 years or older who have had 3 or more normal Pap smears in a row and no abnormal Pap results in the last 10 years may choose to stop cervical cancer screening. Talk to you doctor to determine if that's right for you.
- If you've had a hysterectomy including removal of the cervix (this is an important point) you and your doctor may decide you don't need cervical cancer screening unless it was done as a treatment for cervical cancer.
2 Comments:
This is a very helpful blog, but what I really wanted to find out more about was the scene where they cut the flesh on the marathon runner's legs because of the bleeding- is this something that is actually done, or was it more for the drama of it?
concerning the girl with cervical cancer.
she may have done better than having dr. addison cut her open and find out that she has extensive cancer!!
as an ob/gyn i can tell you that cervical cancer is a CLINICALLY staged disease, not staged during surgery as dr.addison did. she could have easily done a cystoscopy and concluded the same thing.
hopefully greys anatomy will find a real gynecologist to add to the ensemble
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