“gardasil?”

– by Belle Gleeson

I am the girl in the bubble.

Not literally of course, but I am the type of girl who manages to hurt herself daily from even the most mundane of tasks and is on a first name basis with almost every doctor in Canberra. So last week, I hobbled into my GP’s office after moaning for a week about back pain. Being in a doctor’s office is really not my cup of tea, like many of you I’m sure. But when she unveiled one of those dreaded little needles from the safety of her drawer, I started to wonder whether my back pain was really that bad.

Now, I don’t have a huge fear of needles, (trust me, if I can get a chest tattoo and come out alive, I can definitely stand a little jab from a doctor) but I was curious as to why I was going to need one. She just smiled at me and said, “It’s your Gardasil injection”.

As a female, I should know what that means.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, right behind breast cancer. In Australia around 740 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and around 270 women die annually from it. Luckily, and I use that term lightly, cervical cancer is one of the few cancers where scientists know exactly what causes it.

Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted infection called Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV. Studies have shown that up to 80% of women will become infected with this virus, but before you panic, over 100 forms of the virus exist, and only a handful have the ability to cause cancer. And in the majority of cases, the infection simply disappears without a trace before it has the chance to develop into something more serious. Of course, the best way to detect whether or not you have HPV is through a Pap smear. And while it isn’t the most pleasant of things to do, it could save your life. Besides, you only need to go once every two years, which is just enough time to wipe the embarrassment from your mind before your next visit!

Every year, our government spends more than $90 million dollars on the National Cervical Screening Program, making Australia one of the best countries when it comes to promoting cervical cancer prevention. This has dramatically reduced the number of cervical cancer related deaths, as early detection is the best. Since 1985, the number of deaths has more than halved.

Gardasil is a new vaccination that can help prevent cervical cancer. It prevents infection from HPV type 16 and 18, the most common strains of the virus causing cervical cancer. Gardasil has shown to be 100% effective in women who have never been sexually active, and therefore do not have the virus at the time of immunisation.

The vaccine is administered as three injections over a seven month period, for women aged 12-26. If you are aged 12-13, the vaccine is delivered to you in your first year of high school. It’s a school based program, which is effective because it will get you vaccinated before there is a chance you will be exposed to the HPV infection. If you’re older, but still in school, you can also get it through the same program. And, if you’re not in school, you can pop into your GP and have it done.

I conducted a survey on girls from 15-24 years, the target group for this injection, to find out how many girls were having the injection. The results were interesting, showing that most young women who’d received it, had done so through school vaccination programs.

Is it laziness, a lack of ‘adequate’ advertising, or factors relating to accessibility that are keeping working girls out of the GP’s office? I asked those who hadn’t yet had it, why, and the replies I got were all basically the same: no time; did not know about it; couldn’t be bothered. Perhaps it’s worth considering a program of vaccinations at work? Or has our government done enough by providing us with this vaccine?

Alarmingly almost 99% of the girls I surveyed said cervical cancer didn’t worry them. Cervical cancer can take ten years to properly develop, so detecting it in its early stages, or maybe even preventing it, is vital. And it starts now. What we need to understand is that there is really no excuse not to get it done; there is no price for good health, and this vaccination is already free.