Approximately 10,000 women will develop cervical cancer this year in the United States. Of that 10,000, approximately 4,000 will lose the battle.
A group of Michigan legislators, including Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, is working to change those numbers.
They proposed a new law that would require parents to become educated about genital human papillomavirus, or HPV, and its link to cervical cancer. The legislators want parents to be better aware of the common sexually transmitted infection and how to prevent it.
Genital warts are one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, caused by HPV.
The bill endorses the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which protects women against four strains of HPV responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June for women ages 9 to 26.
Michigan is one of the leading states actively supporting the vaccine. It was the fist state to propose a law mandating girls be vaccinated. It was defeated last month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends girls receive the vaccine before becoming sexually active to be most effective.
While the cause is undoubtedly justified, the idea of making education a law raises one important question: How will it be enforced?
The best way to approach parents and students is through their local school district. However, timing is key.
Parents should be made aware of HPV and its correlation to cervical cancer when their children are young, so they have time to make an informed decision about vaccination. This can be done through meetings, fliers, e-mails — whatever is the most effective way to spread the word in that community.
Children, on the other hand, should be informed of the risk of HPV and cervical cancer, along with other STIs, during their scheduled sexual education classes. This should be done when girls are in sixth or seventh grade, as the ideal time to be vaccinated is between the ages of 11 and 13.
But can this be forced?
No. After all, in some school districts, parents have the right to excuse their students from sexual education classes, even if the content of the class were to be mandated by law.
It is for this reason that educating parents is crucially important.
More work needs to be done to make this proposed law more clear, but there is no denying those behind it should be commended for their efforts to protect the younger generation from this disease. Such efforts deserve the continued support of the government and community through funding to help spread their valuable message.
As they say, knowledge is power, and despite the scary details, the ability to prevent another death has immeasurable value.
The HPV commercials seen on television end with the simple slogan "Tell Someone," and that is exactly what should be done.
