A Crucial Message
- Singer Ciara, 35, is speaking up about HPV awareness and cervical cancer in an attempt to encourage Black women to get in and get their wellness exams.
- In a new campaign called “Cerving Confidence,” the model and actress is reminding people how much check-ups can make a difference in catching cervical cancer early, when it’s often highly treatable.
- Leading experts agree that children should be vaccinated for HPV starting at the age of 9, as HPV is a leading cause of cervical cancer, along with anal cancer, and head-and-neck cancers.
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Learning About HPV
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the leading cause of cervical cancer, and eight out of 10 women will contract one of the various strains of the sexually transmitted virus at least once in their lifetime. It is important to know that men can also contract and pass HPV, and the virus can cause other cancers, particularly head and neck cancers.
The “Cerving Confidence” campaign's website provides people with a checklist of questions they should ask their doctor at their exams to ensure they're getting the appropriate screenings. The campaign also aims to destigmatize talking about HPV, cervical cancer and Pap tests; the site features a "photobooth" that lets you put a #CervingConfidence frame around a photo which you can then share to social media to help raise awareness of the issue. "Next time you're in a group chat, remind your girlfriends to schedule their exams and get their Pap tests," Ciara adds in a campaign video.
The mom of three-year-old Sienna (with husband Russell Wilson) said that “we need to level up our conversations about health and address disparities to create a better health equity for the next generation. That's the world I want to create for my daughter."
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Should I Vaccinate My Child?
Leading experts say that it is a good idea to consider the vaccination for children. Not only is HPV a leading cause of cervical cancer, but it's one of the main causes of anal cancer as well.
"HPV is present in 96 percent of all cervical cancers and is the leading cause of cervical cancer in the United States," Dr. Bobbie J. Rimel, gynecologic oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles tells SurvivorNet. "Vaccination is obviously a huge part of what's happening in our world right now," she says, explaining that "The FDA currently has expanded the approval of HPV vaccine, specifically the Gardasil 9 vaccine, to include the widest range of possible vaccinated patients, which includes children, boys and girls, from ages 9, to now men and women up to the age of 45."
A lot of parents question vaccinating their children since it is primarily contracted through sexual contact, but it's fairly easy to transmit even without sexual situations. "That sexual contact doesn't have to be vaginal intercourse with a penis. That sexual contact can be hand to genital, mouth to genital, genital to genital contact of any kind. That being said, the FDA approval allows for children as young as age nine to be vaccinated."
Dr. Rimel also says that "one of the reasons behind giving children HPV vaccinations and not waiting until teenage or adult years is because the immune system of children is very robust. And their ability to create a lifelong immunity based on a vaccination is greater than in the adult body."
She also says that it may prevent further infection. "HPV vaccination is the single greatest anticancer move we can make for our children today."
Should I Give My Kids the HPV Vaccine? A Leading Doctor On Why She Says ‘Yes!’
HPV Is Responsible For 5% Of Cancers In The World: An Advocate's Crucial Message
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