Demy Hulshorst was 21 when she went to the doctor with a lot of blood. It turned out that she had HPV, a virus that can sometimes turn into breast cancer. In the Netherlands, women are invited for an HPV smear test when they are 30. But according to Demy and her fellow student Charell, that age should be lowered.
Demy who is now 23 years old tells RTL News that the virus came completely unexpected for her. “I was bleeding between my periods,” she explains. “At first I thought it was because of my IUD, so I didn’t look any further. After a year, the doctor did a smear test and I found out it was HPV .I was very surprised by this.”
Almost everyone gets HPV
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is a virus that someone almost always gets through sex. Almost everyone gets the virus at least once or more and the body usually clears the infection itself. Sometimes the body does not do this and a high-risk variant of the virus can cause cancer, including breast cancer.
Demy turned out to have stage 3b PAP. At that stage, the cells are so abnormal that treatment is necessary. “I was then sent to a gynecologist,” said Demy. As she is a young woman, she was advised to wait. This is because the treatment is often associated with unpleasant risks. With a healthy lifestyle and when you’re young, your body is often able to clear the virus itself,” she says. And that happened, because after a while she was at the lowest PAP level 2.
Dutch women are invited to have an HPV smear test as soon as they are 30 years old. Demy wants that age to be lowered to 25 years. That’s why she started with her fellow student Charell Meijer (22). campaign with the petition ‘HPVetkut’.
The fact that the body almost always clears the virus itself is not enough for Demy and Charell. “What happens to those young women who are not among the lucky ones?” they write in a press release. Demy said: “If I look at myself, it could have progressed to cancer, a smear test at the age of 30 would probably have been too late.
Gynecologist Ruud Bekkers from the Catharina Hospital Eindhoven explains that, for various reasons, women are only called for a smear test from the age of 30. “One in four women under the age of 30 is HPV positive, and only a very low percentage get cancer.”
He continues: “Of the women with cervical cancer, 6 percent are under the age of 30. In total, this was fifty women last year.” Because of the recent vaccination campaign, he expects this number to ‘go to 25 women next year’.
Bekkers also explains that HPV treatment is indeed associated with risks. “For women who still want to get pregnant, it can lead to premature birth and children with disabilities.” He explains that it is therefore necessary to carefully consider whether an earlier test for HPV is the best option. “Not everyone wants to wait for a real start. The woman then becomes uncertain, and so does the doctor. As a result, many women can be treated unnecessarily and that can be very difficult.”
Trouble
Demy doesn’t think early detection will cause much disruption. “I can ask every question to the gynecologist, I read it carefully. That way I know that the body can solve itself. Then that fear will soon disappear.”
She continues: “Knowledge is still very low among young women.” So she and Charell believe that young people should get more information about HPV. “For example, through a campaign for women between 18 and 29 on TikTok or Instagram about the symptoms and when to go to the doctor.”
Testing and vaccination are important
For gynecologist Bekkers, vaccination and examination at the age of 30 is extremely important. “Currently, 50 percent of women have had their HPV smear done by the age of 30. And with the HPV vaccine in girls, 90 percent of breast cancer is prevented before the age of 30. So let’s make sure the first all women aged 30 will participate. the test and that young girls get the vaccine.”
There are countries where smear tests are done earlier. For example, in Norway, women aged 25 and over are recommended to take an HPV test. “We have been using this age for 25 years, since 1995,” explained Ameli Tropé, gynecologist and head of the cervical program in Norway. “We don’t treat everyone who is HPV positive. There are certain HPV types we don’t treat and for other HPV types we wait three years and then try to – again.
Demy is doing well at the moment. She is still suffering from bleeding, but is being monitored regularly. “I’m checked every few months. Then I’m there on time.” Demy and Charell hope to get something going with the campaign. “We want to put something forward. The most obvious option is to go to the House of Representatives with our petition.”
2024-05-04 09:06:26
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