In the month dedicated to women and on the occasion of the International HPV Awareness Day, the University of Pharmacy in Craiova initiates a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination protection against cervical cancer, with the message “Take care of your daughter!”.
Cervical cancer can be eradicated through effective vaccination programs
Almost all sexually active women and men will become infected with at least one type of HPV during their lifetime. Annually, HPV infection causes 3380 new cases of cervical cancer, and more than 550 other types of cancer, and 1800 women lose their lives, although they could have been protected by vaccination.
In Romania, cervical cancer is the third most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, after breast and colorectal cancer, but the future may sound different. Romania has a national anti-HPV vaccination program dedicated to girls between the ages of 11 and 18. In addition to these, they can be vaccinated and it is advisable to vaccinate boys as well. And national HPV vaccination programs successfully implemented in other countries have already proven their effectiveness. In Australia, thanks to the increased effectiveness of vaccination campaigns, specialists are already predicting the eradication of cervical cancer in the next 2 decades.
The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) of the World Health Organization (WHO) reviewed the evidence on the safety of HPV vaccines in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 – 7 times. The WHO has never reported any safety issues with HPV vaccines.
A different story: The call to care for the women in our lives
“March is the month dedicated to women, hope and optimism. In addition to such tender and beautiful symbols that delight our eyes and soul, we thought to offer as a prayer and an exhortation to take better care of each other, of our daughters, of our mothers, of the women in our lives ! With this idea, students and teachers, UMF Craiova started building this education and information campaign. And because March 4 is the International HPV Awareness Day, we will again go to the community with a message from the area of prevention”, said Prof. Univ. Dr. Xenia Negrea, director of the information department at UMF Craiova.
The campaign “Take care of your daughter!” aims to support the population, but through this initiative UMF Craiova appeals, at the same time, to all regional and national institutions and forums that can support the communication of information that can save tens of thousands of lives.
A helping hand in correct information, to save lives
At 11:00 a.m., in the Aula Magna of UMF Craiova, there will be a session of questions and explanations, supported by the doctors: Prof. Univ. Dr. Dan Ionuț Gheonea, rector of UMF Craiova, prof. dr. Ștefania Tudorache, university professor Dr. Dominic Iliescu, associate professor Dr. Carmen Oancea, associate professor Dr. Constantin Kamal, sldr. Gindrovel Dumitra, s.l. Dr. Cristi Lungulescu.
Parents, pupils, students, representatives of institutions who can lend a hand in correct communication to save tens of thousands of lives are invited to participate.
From 1:00 p.m., in Electroputere Mall, the people of Craiova will meet the students of UMF Craiova, together with their teachers, and find out ways by which ZERO cases of cancer caused by HPV infection have been and can still be reached.
“In the informative materials that we distributed and that we will distribute on Saturday, in the Aula Magna of UMF Craiova, but also in the largest shopping center in Craiova, we explain what the implications are and how we can take care of our children, by us, how can even zero cases of cancer caused by HPV infection be reached. It’s in the power of each of us to take care of each other and save lives”, states Xenia Negrea.
„We can prevent tragedies”
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection affects both women and men. It can be transmitted both through sexual contact and through any other type of direct skin contact. Let’s just think that HPV infection has been identified in 99% of diagnosed cervical cancer cases.
“Our message is that we can prevent many of these tragedies. We can do cytological examinations (Babeș Papanicolau test or cytological examination in liquid medium), we can call for colposcopy/ visual inspection with acetic acid (IVA), we can enter the screening flow of HPV types with high oncogenic risk. But most importantly, we can also protect our children by vaccinating against HPV. In Romania, we have a national anti-HPV vaccination program, dedicated to girls between the ages of 11 and 18, but they can be vaccinated and it is advisable to vaccinate boys as well. Vaccinating boys will contribute to the substantial reduction of these types of cancer in vaccinated male persons”, the UMF Craiova representatives say.
