Cancer Resources

A vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer in women recently received FDA approval to include the prevention of anal cancer which struck 5,300 men and women in the United States last year, and led to the death of an estimated 720 people.

Gardasil is a vaccine used for the prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70 to 75 percent of all cervical cancers, and can also lead to the development of anal, vulvar, vaginal and penile cancer. There are more than 200 types of HPV, most of which show no symptoms, and 30 to 40 of them are transmitted sexually, infecting the anal-genital regions.

According to a report by Gardasil maker Merck, “It is estimated that HPV types 16 and 18 account for approximately 80 percent of anal cancers, 75 percent of cervical cancers, 70 percent of vaginal cancers and 40 to 50 percent of vulvar cancers.” Ninety-percent of all genital wart cases are traced to types 6 and 11. Continue reading ‘FDA Approves Gardasil for Prevention of Anal Cancer’ »

Perhaps the most important point to note about HPV symptoms is that in many cases there are none!

Both men and women can carry one of the strains of HPV that results in genital warts, or worse still, cervical cancer, yet show no signs or symptoms whatsoever. Yet they can be pursuing an active sex life and unwittingly passing on the virus to one sexual partner after another.

In fact, the most prevalent strains of HPV that have been linked to cervical cancer are the least likely to show any symptoms for many years. Between 3000 and 4000 women die every year from cervical cancer, which is often treatable if caught in its early stages. Medical researchers believe that this number is so high because most women have no idea they have cervical cancer until its too late. Continue reading ‘Hpv Symptoms ? Exploding The Myths’ »