Woman pleads for Utahns to get HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer - KSL.com

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SALT LAKE CITY — January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and astir 14,000 women successful the U.S. are diagnosed with this benignant of crab each year.

Dr. Jonathan Grant, a radiation oncologist, astatine Intermountain Healthcare said long-lasting infections of quality papillomavirus are the main origin of cervical cancer.

"Cervical crab is unsocial due to the fact that it is 1 of fewer cancers that is simulated by a virus," helium said.

There is present a vaccine to assistance forestall this disease, the HPV vaccine.

The American Cancer Society said cervical crab rates person dropped 65% from 2012 to 2019 aft a procreation of young women were vaccinated against HPV for the archetypal time.

"The HPV vaccine is 1 of the large occurrence stories implicit the past 10 to 20 years," Grant said.

West Valley nonmigratory Marianne Peterson, 40, was diagnosed with cervical crab successful September of 2021.

"I conscionable felt similar I was floating. It was surreal to beryllium diagnosed with cervical cancer," she said.

Her past 2 pap smears came backmost with abnormal cells and a period earlier her adjacent yearly checkup she started having dense bleeding.

Grant said that is simply a motion of cervical cancer. She started chemotherapy and radiation attraction immediately.

"I had ne'er felt that sick successful my full life," she said.

But she kept warring done the sickness.

"It was mostly making definite I was present to instrumentality attraction of my kids and my dogs but mostly my kids," Peterson said.

Peterson is present crab escaped and spends her clip camping with household and friends.

She said if the vaccine was disposable erstwhile she was younger, she would person gotten it. "I conscionable deliberation if determination is simply a vaccine that reduces the hazard of getting this illness it's an implicit nary brainer," Peterson said.

Grant says the HPV vaccine is recommended for boys and girls betwixt the ages of 9 and 26 and earlier they are sexually active.