Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer, and during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, doctors are urging families to consider the HPV vaccine.
Human papillomavirus causes most cases of cervical cancer, and Intermountain Health’s medical director of immunization programs, Dr. Tamara Sheffield, says vaccination can dramatically reduce those numbers.
“This is an extraordinarily effective vaccine,” Sheffield said.
About 36,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States. Health experts say that number could drop to fewer than 4,000 if all Americans were vaccinated against HPV. The vaccine is recommended beginning at age 9.
“People who are younger actually respond and have a better immune response and protect themselves better for the rest of their lives if they get it younger,” Sheffield said.
Doctors also emphasize the vaccine’s strong safety record and its unique role in prevention. There is no cure for HPV, but the vaccine can stop infection before it starts.
“Since we don’t have a cure, we have something that stops you from ever getting it, and that’s why we’ve really focused on the vaccine,” Sheffield said.
Some parents hesitate because HPV is transmitted through intimate contact, leading them to worry the vaccine may be seen as permission for their child to be sexually active. Sheffield says the protection it provides is about long-term health.
“If you, as a parent, can give this vaccine to your child, knowing that whoever they have contact with in their future and what their behaviors may have been won’t impact your child or give your child cancer in the future… you’re doing something that gives both them peace of mind and you and you peace of mind, having done the right thing as a parent,” she said.
Sheffield encourages parents to speak directly with their child’s doctor. While misinformation about the vaccine circulates online, she says pediatricians are focused on the science and on what is best for each child.
You can make an appointment for your child to get an HPV vaccine and a well child checkup by contacting your provider, or by visiting https://intermountainhealthcare.org/childrens-health.
