FDA Approves 2-dose Regimen for HPV Vaccine
On October 12th the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a 2-dose schedule for Merck’s Gardasil-9® HPV vaccine for males and females ages 9-14. The new schedule calls for the second dose of the vaccine to be given 6-12 months following the first. The 3-dose schedule originally licensed with the vaccine may still be used, […]
What Women Need to Know about the New World of Cervical Cancer Screening
It used to be very simple—a woman had an annual Pap test. Now, Paps can be done alone or in combination with an HPV test (one HPV test can even be used for primary cervical cancer screening). Added to the mix is a set of updated guidelines that, for most women, means an annual cervical […]
Podcast: Coping with Cervical Cancer
Cancer can be isolating, and it’s easy to see where friends and family members who haven’t personally dealt with cancer—and if they have, probably haven’t dealt with your specific cancer—aren’t able to fully relate and a patient can feel alone in some ways. The volunteer chapter leaders who work with ASHA’s National Cervical Cancer Coalition […]
Podcast: Cervical Cancer Screening
Cervical cancer screening used to all be so simple—women were told just go for your annual Pap. But now we have new tests to screen for cervical cancer, plus updated guidelines that—for most women—mean routine screening is done every few years rather than annually. The changes are confusing not only to women but their healthcare […]
Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month
September is Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month https://youtu.be/UGwd7QfjkbI According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that this year more than 113,500 women will be diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer and more than 33,000 will die from the disease. Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month provides an important opportunity to draw attention to this important women’s health issue […]
Podcast: All about HPV with Ina Park, MD
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is a common sexually transmitted infection. So common that most (~80%) of sexually active people will be infected with HPV at some point. While it is often harmless, it can cause genital warts and even lead to cervical cancer. In this episode of ASHA’s Sex+Health podcast, Fred Wyand talks to Ina […]
Making Sense of Pap Tests, HPV Tests, and the New Landscape of Cervical Cancer Screening
It used to be so simple – go for an annual Pap. For generations of women the Pap was a yearly ritual, something of a cultural icon. Invented by Dr. Georgios Papanicolaou, his namesake test has caused cervical cancer rates to plummet in the U.S. and other nations where it’s widely used. It’s no exaggeration […]
FDA Approves a New HPV Vaccine
In December, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new HPV vaccine, Gardasil 9® manufactured by Merck and Company. The new vaccine covers nine HPV types: the two low-risk types that cause most cases of genital warts (HPV 6 and HPV 11) along with seven high-risk types (HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, […]
Grassroots Hope
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol Danah Abarr needed answers about HPV. She figured others did, too. So she started an organization and a movement. It’s a familiar story: when Danah Abarr first searched for answers to her questions […]
HPV and Cervical Cancer—Understanding the Connection and How to Prevent Cancer
Though usually harmless, some types of HPV cause cervical lesions that, over a period of time, can develop into cancer if untreated.