A vaccine, but for cancer
I work in cervical cancer screening. I’m in the clinic 2 or 3 times weekly, and my waiting room is always full. It shouldn’t be that way. Cervical cancer is a vaccine-preventable disease. All of this worry, all of this pain, all of this death, is completely preventable.
Have you had your HPV vaccine?
Perhaps you don’t have a cervix, so you think you don’t need the vaccine. Did you know that HPV causes throat cancer, and throat cancer in men is even more common than cervical cancer in women? Throat cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 37% and is preventable with HPV vaccination.
If you have a throat, you should get the HPV vaccine!
In addition, 91% of anal cancers are caused by HPV. Anal cancer is preventable with HPV vaccination.
Most Canadians think it’s just for kids in school, but NACI guidelines say that any person, of any gender, of any age, who’s at risk for infection, can consider vaccination. If you’re out in the dating world, regardless of age, you’re at risk. One Canadian study showed that among new couples, 64% were HPV positive.
So why consider vaccination in middle age?
You’re at risk of infection
If you’re out in the dating world, regardless of age, you’re at risk. One Canadian study showed that among new couples, 64% were HPV positive.
Humans are bad at monogamy. 40% of marriages end, and at least 20% of people admit to infidelity, so 60% of people who think they are safe may be exposed to the virus at some point.
It’s harder to clear the virus as we age. Your risk of infection may be low, but it is never zero and the consequences of infection are greater as we age.
80% of teens will clear the virus within 2 years, but in midlife, only 60% of people clear the virus in 2 years.
As we age, our risk of needing immunosuppressant medication to treat chronic illness is greater and this increases the risk of HPV-associated cancers.
It can save you $600.
If you have private insurance through work, many plans cover a portion of the cost up to the age of 46.
If your marriage ends, you may lose your partner’s health insurance or be too old to qualify under your own insurance.
If you can get it covered under insurance, get it now. As far as we know it works for life and no booster is required.
If you can’t get coverage, Costco pharmacy has the best price
The HPV vaccine is not associated with any of the things that people worry about with vaccination. It does not cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic pain. Getting the vaccine keeps you safe going forward, regardless of age but it can’t get rid of a virus that you already have. Thus, the best way to keep people safe is to vaccinate them before any sexual exposure, which is why we vaccinate kids in school in grade 7.
The problem is that vaccine-hesitant parents have been putting their kids at risk. The HPV vaccination rate in Ontario has been around 50% for many years, meaning half of kids aren’t being protected against cancer. The pandemic has made this even worse. Only 23% of pandemic grade 7s are vaccinated, and as they age they become more likely to engage in sexual behaviour that puts them at risk. Check on your kids and check with your family and friends to make sure their kids are vaccinated for HPV.
I would love to retire from this work knowing that everyone is protected from HPV-related cancers. Australia has been more effective with its vaccination campaign and they are on track to eliminate cervical cancer by 2028. Please get vaccinated and talk with your loved ones about HPV vaccination. It works.