Gardasil vs Cervarix

I have been wanting to get myself vaccinated for HPV (human papillomavirus), which protects against cervical cancer, ever since my company policy covered the medical expenses. Hehe.

Watch this. I just found some advertisments about the cervical cancer Immunisation Programme.

According to the second report of the National Cancer Registry Cancer Incidence in Malaysia (2003) from Ministry of Health Malaysia, cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer among Malaysian women (behind breast cancer). The World Health Organization estimates that there are currently more than 2 million women in the world who have cervical cancer. Every year, 490,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed. That is more than 1,350 new cases per day.

Probably someone will be asking: What is cervical cancer? (A big question)

Cervical cancer is the cancer that forms in tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina) which is passed mainly through sexual contact.. It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope).

However, the key is that almost all cervical cancer can be preventable.

Currently,there are 2 competitive vaccines available in the market, Cervarix from GSK and Gardasil from MSD.

Cervarix is specifically designed for two strains of the virus, types 16 and 18, responsible for 70% of cervical cancer, while Gardasil targets four strains, type 16,18 and two of which, type 6 and 11, responsible for 90% of genital wards.

Experts say the vaccine is most useful when given to younger girls (age 18 to 25 or even as early as 9 years old). It is ineffective once the virus is present.

The drawback: The high price tags. The vaccine, which has to be given in three doses, at 0, 2 and 6 month, costs between SGD$4500 and SGD$600. But I really think it's really worth every penny to help to do prevention.



So, tell someone about cervical cancer today and get yourself and your love one protected against cervical cancer....