Cervical cancer vaccine to be rolled out

1:40pm Friday 5th September 2008

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NEARLY 2,000 12 and 13 year old girls and their parents across the borough are to be contacted by NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan in a bid to encourage uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

The vaccine offers protection against the commonest cause of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the major causes of cancer deaths in women after lung and breast cancer and the second commonest cause of cancer in women under 35 years.

Every year in the Wigan borough, seven women die of cervical cancer, but this can now be prevented through the introduction of the HPV vaccine alongside with the existing cervical screening programme.

The initiative that is part of a national Government campaign, Arm Against Cancer, starts with parents receiving consent forms sent via the school health team and the vaccination programme commences in the Wigan Borough from October 6.

More than 70% of cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV for short. This vaccine can stop the virus causing cervical cancer, which is the most preventable type of cancer, and having the HPV vaccine at school will significantly protect girls against cervical cancer in later life.

Cervical cancer is a disease that can affect any girl or young woman and the NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan is urging parents in the borough to give consent for the vaccine. NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan is aiming to ensure all 12 and 13 year olds from school year 8 will benefit from this potentially life saving intervention.

The launch of the programme is part of NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan’s wider strategy to protect women against cervical cancer and is designed to complement the existing comprehensive screening programme offered to all women across the Borough over the age of 25.