Five Polish women die of this cancer every day. Prophylaxis is simple and cheap

Proven content

– Prevention is the key – says prof. dr hab. n. med. Violetta Skrzypulec-Plinta, head of the Department of Women’s Health, Medical University of Silesia. Cervical cancer is a cancer that can be easily detected – all you need is a Pap smear. Unfortunately, women do not perform it regularly, and they visit gynecologists only when disturbing symptoms appear. What to do to detect cervical cancer at an early stage?

1. Each year, cervical cancer is diagnosed in more than 3. women in Poland. — Half of them will never recover because they came to the doctor too late – says prof. Skrzypulec-Plinta
2. Cytology plus HPV vaccination – according to the expert, are two key elements of cervical cancer prevention
3. Unfortunately, Polish women are reluctant to use research opportunities. Many of them go to gynecologists with a developed cancer
4. It is the Cervical Cancer Prevention Week
5. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Journalists for Health Association: I would like to start with a paradox: 5-6 women die of cervical cancer every day in Poland, and yet the prevention of this disease is very simple and cheap. Why is this happening?

Prof. dr hab. Violetta Skrzypulec-Plinta, med: Indeed, we judge the condition of the cervix on the basis of pap smear tests. But we also cannot forget about primary prevention, i.e. vaccination. The key to everything is the word “prevention”. We have fantastic, intelligent young people who want to learn and conquer the world by learning from the Internet. At the same time, these young people are completely uneducated about, for example, risky sexual behavior or the possibility of preventing sexually transmitted diseases. And it would be enough to tell them about the consequences of early sexual initiation and about preventive vaccinations. However, we are releasing these young people into the wide world and, without educating them, exposing girls to cervical cancer.

When we talk about cervical cancer, the term human papillomavirus – or HPV – comes up. The name “nasty” and “nasty” also the virus itself.

The human papillomavirus has always existed, and thanks to the development of medicine, we know that there are more than 180 of its types. In cervical cancer, types 16 and 18 are the most oncogenic, the ones for which we have vaccines today. We must also remember that the human papillomavirus is not only cancer of the cervix, but also vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, rectal cancer and laryngeal cancer. Our behavior, our culture, but also our willingness and ability to vaccinate ourselves, determine how often we fall ill with diseases that we should not get.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world, with one woman dying from it every 18 minutes; about 3,5 thousand every year Polish women hear the diagnosis – cancer! Half of them will never recover because they see the doctor too late. We always wonder why many of them did not even have enough time to get a Pap smear.

Further part under the video.

Probably each of the ladies once found an invitation to a Pap smear in their mailbox. Why is this study important, and most importantly: why do women ignore this invitation instead of using it?

I am pleased to sit on the scientific council dealing with the prevention of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, I have to say that I do not know what would have to happen for the desire to undergo a Pap test to become a routine everyday duty. And yet the Pap smear is literally a moment, it is painless, non-invasive, and easy to perform. You have to repeat them once a year or every three years, depending on the result. The baseline (“slide” test) can also be extended. Liquid cytology is more accurate and shows us a better picture of the cervix.

1. You can buy LBC thin-layer liquid cytology in a package with gynecological consultation at Medonet Market

Unfortunately, on average less than 20 percent. women took advantage of these invitations. The general anti-vaccine or anti-medical attitude is not without significance here: why should I test myself, if I will not vaccinate myself or anyone from my family anyway …

Sometimes I ask a patient with cervical cancer, which could have been avoided: why didn’t you have a Pap test? And I hear: «You know, I have three children, a husband and a mother-in-law on my head. If I found out that I am sick, what would I do? ».

I answer a little brutally that there will always be a stepmother for children, but that there will never be a mother again. That speaks occasionally, and I know that in this system there were really many attempts to get patients for cytology. Unsuccessfully. Gynecological examination requires breaking the barrier of intimacy and still arouses general reluctance. This is due to what I said at the beginning: lack of education.

Let’s get back to the cytology. The professor spoke about the classic and the liquid. Do we have better, more modern methods in the future?

Of course, there is progress, because we can also perform genetic tests. They are not reimbursed at the moment, but I know that discussions are ongoing. However, in order to come to the gynecologist with a smile on your face and calmly wait for the cytology result, you need to think about vaccinating yourself and your children.

Now we have good news for those of you who want to think about cervical cancer. From November 2021, the HPV vaccine is reimbursed. So who should think about vaccination first?

Of course, this is a very good step, and as far as I know, there is further discussion on extending reimbursement to HPV vaccination into the free immunization program.

In the fall of last year, the excellent medical journal “The Lancet” published the results of studies proving that girls vaccinated in 2008 in Great Britain gained 90% protection against cervical cancer. This is great news.

We must remember that the HPV virus is extremely clever. It is not a flu that will “tire” us and recover. HPV does not give any symptoms for a long time: either the body will cope and the virus will die, or it will go into new forms.

Fortunately, we already have an effective weapon against it: the vaccine. Girls who have been vaccinated before sex life have the best chance for a healthy life. Vaccination does not, however, exclude regular Pap smear tests.

1. A mail-order diagnostic test for HPV infection is available at medonetmarket.pl

Can we also vaccinate the elderly?

Of course, and if we are talking about women up to 45 years of age, we know that even if they have the virus found in genetic tests, vaccination slows down all disease processes.

What do the human papillomavirus vaccines contain?

The HPV vaccines contain virus-like particles produced by genetic recombination. This most popular vaccine at the moment, registered in Europe in 2007, belongs to the group of inactivated, ie inactive, killed vaccines. When joining preventive programs, it should be remembered that people aged 9 to 14 years old are recommended to give two doses at intervals of 5 to 13 months, while for older people three doses are given, i.e. in the zero, first and sixth month.

But it is not only about vaccinating girls and women, it is also a vaccine for boys.

This is important because men are the source of the infection. In Switzerland, Great Britain and Australia, boys are already vaccinated.

So we have a virus that we cannot see and that gives us no symptoms. He’s just waiting patiently. That is why the disease most often affects women between 35 and 40 years of age who have already given birth to children, and lead their professional, sexual and family lives. If they regularly perform cytology, we are able to detect the disease and treat it effectively. However, if there was no examination and suddenly some bloody discharge, unpleasant smell, problems with sexual contacts, malaise or pains appear, then the patient usually requires a full oncological profile.

We have been living in a pandemic for two years and there is often talk of difficult access to doctors. Do you notice that the health of women who come for advice are worse?

I have been practicing for almost 40 years and of course, there are patients who have not been to the doctor for a long time. The most important thing, however, is that they came. In many cases, everything is fine. First we wait for the cytology results, then we discuss them. Unfortunately, there are cases that end tragically. So I come back to prophylaxis: vaccination should be like a tailor-made dress: you are a girl – we vaccinate you against the human papillomavirus.

What is the modern treatment of cervical cancer?

It begins, of course, with the diagnosis and if the result is positive, the patient enters the oncological system. If it is an in-situ tumor that has been detected quickly, we can also react quickly: we take care of the cervix itself, cut it to the border of healthy tissue and practically end there. The prerequisite, however, is early detection. However, if the cancer is advanced, it involves severe surgical procedures involving not only the removal of the uterus, but also the ovaries and all organs around it: lymph nodes and sentinel nodes.

The European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is underway. What appeal would you make on this occasion to women: mothers, daughters, but also men?

Maybe, for example, on the occasion of the upcoming Valentine’s Day, a visit to the gynecologist combined with a preventive examination? After all, it is a celebration of love …

The most important thing is to talk about prophylaxis all the time. Vaccination is the first life insurance policy for girls. Choose life, take the first step: vaccinate your daughter and your son. Pregnant patients are subject to obligatory pap smear tests, other women have to think about it themselves. We do not live in a glass ball, early sexual initiation affects the entire population, so we also have to keep up with this world a bit. If we are afraid of education or we are just working on these preventive programs, we simply vaccinate ourselves and our children. After all, we women are the wisest beings in the world!

Today we repeat almost ad nauseam: cytology and HPV vaccinations.

Yes of course. Cervical cancer screening population is effective in detecting the disease. In contrast, vaccination is effective in preventing disease. Let’s get vaccinated, let’s have smear tests, let’s choose life!

Authorized press interview prepared by the Journalists for Health Association in connection with the celebration of the European Week of Cervical Cancer Prevention, January 2022.

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