If there were a highly effective vaccine against breast cancer, lung cancer or colon cancer, Americans would throng their doctor’s offices and pharmacy clinics to get it. After heart disease, cancer is the leading cause of death in this country. Potent protection against it would be a godsend.
As it happens, that safeguard already exists for cervical cancer, which is almost always caused by the human papillomavirus. Transmitted to both men and women through sexual contact, HPV infects about 80% of sexually active people at some point in their lives.
It is usually harmless and temporary, but in some people it can persist for years. In some, it can cause cancer. Cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. But HPV can be prevented with a vaccine that is almost 100% effective.
In light of these facts, a network of local medical care providers, community leaders and activists called Equal Hope has launched a campaign to wipe out cervical cancer in Chicago by 2040. The aim is to ensure that women who are uninsured, underinsured or publicly insured have access to prevention, diagnoses and treatment.
“Realistically, nobody should be dying of cervical cancer if you have good vaccinations and rigorous, high-quality screening with appropriate referrals,” Executive Director Anne Marie Murphy told WTTW reporter Kristen Thometz.
Nationally, the mortality rate from cervical cancer has fallen by about one-fifth in this century. But the positive trend has not helped some groups as much as others. Right now, the Tribune’s Darcel Rockett reported, the city’s cervical cancer rate is 39% higher than the national average and the death rate from the disease is 60% higher. It kills about 50 Chicagoans each year.
An African American or Latina in Chicago faces nearly triple the risk of death as a white woman. Consider this stunning fact: A woman living in Washington Park is 85 times more likely to die of cervical cancer than a woman in nearby Hyde Park. Awareness and access to quality medical care are crucial.
One simple way to reach the goal of eradicating the disease is getting more people, and particularly children, to be immunized against HPV. The Affordable Care Act mandated that private insurance plans include coverage for the vaccine, as Medicaid does. Still, only about half of teens age 13 to 17 have gotten all the needed doses.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it for all kids at age 11 or 12. Some parents resist because they are wary of all vaccines or because they doubt the need for protection from STDs at such a young age. But as the CDC notes, the goal is “to protect your child long before they are ever exposed to the virus.” Years of experience and research, it says, have confirmed the safety of the inoculation.
Wiping out cancer is a dream. Wiping out cervical cancer, however, is a serious possibility. We wish Equal Hope well in the effort to make it a reality.
Editorials reflect the opinion of the Editorial Board, as determined by the members of the board, the editorial page editor and the publisher.
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