The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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November 24, 2008

Your View: The gift of cancer prevention

By Blair Harrison, New Haven, Conn.

While the war rages on in the United States over whether or not the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, is cost-effective and morally reprehensible, cervical cancer kills 234,000 women around the world every year, according to World Health Organization.

Most of these women live in undeveloped countries where Pap smears (the annual exam used to detect cervical lesions that could lead to cancer) are not accessible. In the United States there are 7.8 per 100,000 new cases each year. In Haiti, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women and is incidental in 93.9 per 100,000 women, according to Pan American Health Organization. While the incident rate is 13 times higher in Haiti, more disturbing is the mortality rate from the disease.

In the United States, thanks to access to care and screening, the mortality rate from cervical cancer is only 3.3 percent. In Haiti, the reported mortality is 53.5 percent — 16 times higher than the United States.

Many parents have strong reservations about the vaccine, or prefer to wait a few more years until further research is published. The truth of the matter is that the vaccine has proven to be effective in preventing HPV strains 6,11, 16, and 18 — which cause 70 percent of genital warts and 90 percent of cervical cancer.

Merck has said that the vaccine will eventually become available in developing countries.

Their children are truly the ones who need it most. This Christmas, consider giving the gift of cancer prevention, donate to the Pan American Health Organization or the Haitian Health Institute. Help prevent the deaths of children in Haiti from cervical cancer.

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