"It's not just a girls' problem": when an HPV vaccine is offered, doctors should focus on cancer prevention | Characteristics

LOCKPORT, Ill. – In the pediatric office of his children two years ago, Lockport's mother, Kelly DiFilippo, refused the HPV vaccine for her eldest daughter, and "no one looked up." For the sixth year of her second daughter, DiFilippo's refusal of the vaccine was met with a different reaction from the same doctor.

"My pediatrician said," I really want you to think about this, "DiFilippo said," as HPV vaccination rates continue to lag behind other vaccines. Medical experts urge pediatricians to emphasize the importance of the vaccine as much as other vaccines, as part of this effort, the American Cancer Society is launching a public campaign this summer, promising 39, eradicate HPV-related cancers, a sexually transmitted disease, through the use of the cancer vaccine, adolescents, as well as screenings for adults who reached their majority in 2006.

The way Doctors present the vaccine to patients – and to their parents – is a key part of the campaign, said Debbie Saslow, senior director of HPV and Women's Cancers at the American Cancer Society, which will provide materials and supplies. data to doctors to help them talk about the vaccine with patients and to address common concerns, she said.

If we can get all the providers recommend the HPV vaccine in the same way that they do it for other vaccines, it will be the biggest impact, "said Saslow, 1969. "I do not think there has been a historic opportunity to eliminate cancer. "Until now, she said." This was a big rallying cry.

Although HPV vaccination rates have increased over the past decade, doctors and medical groups say they remain too low.

Just under half of girls aged 13 to 17 The same age group was up-to-date on the HPV vaccine in 2016, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control. In Illinois, the numbers were slightly higher – about 53% of girls and about 43% of boys.

While parents were initially slow to consent to the vaccine, they feared future sexual encounters with their pre-teens and worried about sexual promotion. The words they choose when presenting the vaccine can make the difference, said Dr. Robert Jacobson, professor of pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Public Health. Science

Studies on patient-physician interactions show that "clinicians tend to make the vaccine (the HPV vaccine) optional rather than give them a strong recommendation," he said. Jacobson adds: [TRADUCTION] "One often hears," Well, your child has to get a Tdap vaccine and a meningitis vaccine. What do you think of (the flu vaccine) and the HPV vaccine? Jacobson said. "This kind of language … does not sound like they always recommend all the children we have .. We send the wrong message," he said.

According to the CDC, human papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted infection that "almost all" sexually active and unvaccinated individuals will contract at some point in their lives. some never show symptoms. Some strains cause genital warts, while others can lead to six cancers – throat, criminal, anal, vaginal, vulvar and cervical.

The CDC recommends that girls and boys aged 11 or 12 receive the HPV vaccine. if you start before the age of 15, and three times for those who start the vaccine between 15 and 26 years old. The sooner the vaccine is given, the more effective it is, say the doctors.

When administered at the recommended age, the HPV vaccine can prevent 90 percent of HPV-related cancers, according to the CDC. Saslow said the vaccine is 97% effective in preventing these cancers, but protection is decreasing as the age of vaccination increases.

The American Cancer Society's Campaign, titled "Mission: HPV Cancer Free" In addition to educating physicians, the agency will launch social media campaigns, inviting volunteers and cancer survivors to post that they chose to give their child the HPV vaccine to protect him from cancer, Saslow said. "It must be the message."

Dr. Kathryn Edwards, a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Infectious Disease Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said pediatricians needed to learn to talk to parents about vaccines [19659014]. vaccines … and do a very good job on that. It has been a bit more difficult with vaccines for adolescents, "she said." We have not explained very well what HPV is. We have learned something from that. "

Dr. Faith Myers, Lemont's pediatrician who has treated DiFilippo's children since birth, said that while she was recommending the vaccine for years, she has only recently begun to push back parents who say no .

"I will not force anyone," said Myers, who now makes sure not to isolate the HPV vaccine during his presentation at the same time as others whose schools need it. She said that she also helps dispel the myths and shares that she has vaccinated her children, including her sons.

DiFilippo, a mother of four girls, said that although none of her children have received the vaccine, she is now "on the picket fence". "She could bring back her older daughters for the vaccine and consider what she will do for her two youngest."

Dr. Don Seidman, pediatrician of Elmhurst, said that fewer parents are getting pregnant. worry about the vaccine promoting sexual promiscuity before, but he hears the uncertainty of giving the vaccine at an early age.And some parents do not realize that boys are at risk of contracting HPV-related cancer

"It's not just for women;" Beth Major, a mother of four from Hanover Park, chose to vaccinate her daughters, but not her 15-year-old twins. "

boys because I see a direct link to preventive care for girls with respect to cervical cancer, "she said." For boys, I'm not sure of the consequences of the HPV virus, of what it would actually prevent for them. "

" I'm looking to find out more, to ask more in addition to questions, "she added.

Dr. Erik Johnson, a pediatrician from Hoffman Estates who treats the Major family, said he was trying to point out to parents that boys are also at risk, especially with throat cancers caused by HPV.

While 60% to 70% of his patients receive the HPV vaccine, Johnson says that parents who refuse it for their children consider it a relatively new vaccine, or they do not understand why it is given before the most are not sexually

Johnson said his approach is to start discussing the vaccine with parents when their child turns 10, so they have plenty of time to do their own research before the vaccine is offered. Next year

to help dispel medical myths, so come with questions, and let's go, "he says.