>>JENNIFER WAUGH: A NEW STUDY FINDS THAT LATE-STAGE CERVICAL CANCER CASES ARE ON THE RISE
IN THE UNITED STATES. JOINING
US NOW IS DOCTOR DANIEL BEEN
RUBY FROM U.S. HEALTH
JACKSONVILLE. GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING FOR JOINING US. I
APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME. WHICH EXPLAIN WHY
THE INCREASE.
>> SO WE SEE IN THAT STUDY
THAT YOU SEE LA RELEASED THAT
THERE’S 2 THINGS GOING ON. WE
SEE THAT WOMEN ARE LESS LIKELY
IN CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF THE
POPULATION TO GET THEIR PAP
SMEARS AND THEIR CERVICAL
CANCER SCREENING TEST. AND
WE’RE ALSO SEEING THAT THERE’S
DECREASE TREAT RATES OF HPV
VACCINATION AND CERTAIN
SEGMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
POPULATION.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: SO LET’S
START FIRST WITH THE ANNUAL
SCREENING. IS THERE REASON IS
IS BECAUSE OF COVID. BUT THESE
THESE STATISTICS REALLY
PREDATE COAT. THAT’S CORRECT.
SO THE STUDY THAT WAS RELEASED
WAS OVER 18 YEARS. SO WE CAN’T
BLAME COVID FOR THAT ONE,
ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE THESE
DAYS ARE BLAMING COVID FOR
EVERYTHING. SO WE’RE NOT
EXACTLY SURE WHY. BUT THERE
WERE SOME INTERESTING THINGS
FROM THE STUDY. SOUTHERN WHITE
WOMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 40
TO 44 WERE ACTUALLY THE SECOND
OF THE POPULATION WHERE
LATE-STAGE CERVICAL CANCER WAS
ON THE RISE, THE HIGHEST AND
ALSO WHITE WOMEN WERE TWICE AS
LIKELY TO MISS THEIR PAP
SMEARS AS BLACK WOMEN IN THE
STUDY AND FOR REASONS WE’RE
NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN BECAUSE
THIS WAS POPULATION-LEVEL
DATA. GIVEN THAT WHAT IS THE
PROGNOSIS FOR LATE-STAGE
CERVICAL CANCER? IT’S SEVERE.
IS IT NOT? IT’S EXTREMELY POOR
PROGNOSIS. AND THAT’S WHY WE
WANT TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT
CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING THE
5 YEAR SURVIVAL RATE FOR STAGE
4 CERVICAL CANCER IS ONLY 17%
OF THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY
OF WOMEN WITH LATE-STAGE
CERVICAL CANCER DIE FROM THIS
DISEASE. SO THAT’S WHY
EDUCATION IS SO IMPORTANT. ARE
THERE ANY WARNING SIGNS THAT A
WOMAN MIGHT BE AWARE OF THAT
SHE NEEDS TO GO FOR CERTAIN
THERE ARE, BUT THEY CAN BE
HARD TO DETECT A LOT OF TIMES.
IT’S HEAVIER MENSTRUAL
BLEEDING, ESPECIALLY BLEEDING
AFTER INTERCOURSE AND
SOMETIMES PUBLIC PAINTER
VAGINAL DISCHARGE. AND THOSE
ARE THINGS THAT DON’T
NECESSARILY OBVIOUSLY SCREAM
CERVICAL CANCER. SO THAT’S WHY
IT’S SO IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO
SEE THEIR DOCTOR REGULARLY AND
TO GET THEIR PAP SMEAR. AND
ALSO WHEN THEY’RE YOUNGER TO
GET THEIR HPV VACCINATION.
IT’S INTERESTING BECAUSE IT’S
IT’S HARD TO TALK ABOUT. I
THINK MAYBE FOR SOME WOMEN,
RIGHT. AND TO MAKE THAT CALL
TO THE DOCTOR. SO IS THIS AN
ISSUE OF MAYBE WOMEN WHO ARE
JUST TOO BUSY OR WOMEN WHO
JUST NEVER GONE TO BEGIN WITH
REGULARLY. WHAT WE DO SEE FOR
LATE-STAGE CERVICAL CANCER IS
THAT A LOT OF THESE WOMEN HAVE
NOT SEEN A PHYSICIAN AND MANY,
MANY YEARS, SOMETIMES DECADES.
AND THOSE ARE THE WOMEN THAT
ARE AT HIGHEST RISK BECAUSE
THEY’RE NOT GETTING THEIR
SCREENING. AND WE SEE THAT IN
OUR POPULATION THAT WE TREAT
BOTH, THAT YOU HAVE HEALTH AND
ALSO ACROSS THE COUNTRY. COULD
THIS BE ASSOCIATED WITH AN
INSURANCE ISSUE OF NOT HAVING
ANY THEN AT TIMES WE FOUND IN
THE PAST THAT WOMEN WHO HAVE
HAD TROUBLE ACCESSING CARE
BECAUSE OF INSURANCE ISSUES,
THEY DON’T GET THE REQUIRED
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TRIES TO
HELP OUT WITH SOME OF THIS
EFFORT. BUT THERE’S NO
REPLACEMENT FOR SEEING YOUR
DOCTOR, SENIOR HEALTH CARE
PROVIDER AND HAVING ACCESS TO
CARE WITH GOOD FUNDING. IT
MEANS TO THE HPV VACCINE.
THERE IS A VACCINE FOR THIS.
IT IS OFFERED TO CHILDREN. I
BELIEVE MY DAUGHTER HAD HER
FIRST AT 11 TO 2, 2, YOUNG
GIRLS. OBVIOUSLY 11 YEARS OLD.
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS
SUCH A HESITANCY FOR PARENTS
TO ALLOW THEIR DAUGHTERS TO
GET THIS VACCINE?
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: YOU KNOW,
IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN
DISCUSSED A LOT BECAUSE THE
HPV IS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
DISEASE. WE THINK THERE MAY BE
SOME APPREHENSION FROM CERTAIN
PARENTS ABOUT, WELL, THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED. MAYBE WE DON’T
NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT YET.
BUT THE TRUTH IS, IT’S A
CANCER PREVENTION VACCINE AND
IT AND IT WORKS FOR PREVENTING
ILLNESS AND BOYS AND GIRLS
BECAUSE BOYS CAN ACTUALLY SEE
RATES OF OF CANCERS GO UP WITH
HPV AS WELL. SO REALLY, IF YOU
THINK ABOUT IT IS CANCER
PREVENTION, THE REALLY
SHOULDN’T BE A STIGMA AROUND
IT. ARE THERE ANY SIDE EFFECTS
TO THE VACCINE THAT YOU’RE
AWARE OF? NO MAJOR SIDE
EFFECTS. AND ALSO IT’S
IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE VACCINES
BEEN OUT SINCE 2006. WE’VE HAD
MANY YEARS TO COLLECT DATA ON
IT AND THEY’VE UNIVERSALLY
BEEN PROVEN TO BE SAFE AND
EFFECTIVE. AND I WANT TO POINT
OUT, I MEAN, THOUGH, I’M SURE
IT’S RARE FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE
TO DEVELOPS LATE-STAGE
CERVICAL CANCER. THE REALITY
IS, IS, SHOULD THIS HAPPEN TO
A YOUNGER WOMAN? I MEAN, THEY
WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO HAVE
CHILDREN IS AN EXAMPLE AS THEY
GOT OLDER, RIGHT? THAT’S
CORRECT. THIS OFTENTIMES
REQUIRES EITHER A HYSTERECTOMY
OR RADIATION AND CHEMOTHERAPY
THAT OFTEN RENDERS A WOMAN
INFERTILE. SO BEST WAY FOR
PREVENTION. YOUR MESSAGE THEN
TO THE PUBLIC WATCHING THIS
GET VACCINATED. AND IF YOU
CAN’T GET VACCINATED OR EVEN
IF YOU DO GET YOUR PAP SMEAR