When I was growing up, I had some friends around the corner, two sisters and a brother. I used to love hanging out over there because they were fun and their Mom was one of the nicest ladies you'd ever want to meet. She treated me like one of her own kids.
Then their Mom got sick. It was only a very short time between the time I found out she was sick and her funeral, a few months as I recall. She died from cervical cancer. Things were never the same over at my friend's house after that. Their Father was devastated and became a bitter, unfriendly person. I stopped going over there as his mood got darker and darker. After a while we moved away and I never saw any of them again. I really hadn't thought much about them until today.
The FDA has just approved a vaccine that has been shown to stop nearly 3/4 of all cases of cervical cancer. I just think that's a great thing.
In what officials called a major public health breakthrough, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved the first vaccine developed to protect women against cervical cancer.
The vaccine, which works by building immunity against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, was found to be effective in preventing almost three-quarters of all cervical cancers.
"This vaccine is a significant advance in the protection of women's health in that it strikes at the infections that are the root cause of many cervical cancers," said FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.
He predicted that the vaccine — the first ever designed specifically to prevent a cancer — will have a "dramatic effect" on the health of women worldwide.
The vaccine, called Gardisil and developed by Merck & Co., was approved for girls and women ages 9 and 26. It is most useful if given to younger girls, because the vaccine is ineffective once the virus — which is very common among sexually active people — is already present.
It's too late for a lot of women like my friend's Mom, but it can save an awful lot of lives in the future. Finally a little good news!
