Latest news with #Humanpapillomavirus
Daily Maverick
12-08-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
PinkDrive's innovative campaign aims to screen 12,000 people and educate communities on cancer
In an effort to tackle late-stage cancer detection, a mobile screening drive run by the NGO PinkDrive, mining group Rio Tinto and the Department of Health is bringing key services to underresourced communities across four provinces. A mobile cancer screening drive is bringing much-needed services to underresourced communities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. Spearheaded by the health sector NGO PinkDrive, the campaign aims to screen more than 12,000 individuals by the end of August and provide health education to many more. The initiative, supported by mining group Rio Tinto and the National Department of Health, is driven by the need to address late-stage cancer detection. 'There aren't such [screening] services available in many of the areas… and access to where there's services is… just about nonexistent for the communities… That's why [PinkDrive] took the mobile approach some 20 years ago now. Our whole thing is to take the health service to the people who cannot afford it, and make it easily accessible,' explained Noelene Kotschan, CEO and founder of PinkDrive. 'In the communities, these people that we are seeing are the poorest of the poor. They don't have the disposable income to pay for taxis to take them to the hospital for a service… This is all done on the spot.' As part of the campaign, PinkDrive is providing mammograms and pap smears for cervical cancer detection and HPV (Human papillomavirus) screening, as well as check-ups for prostate cancer, skin cancers, high blood pressure and glucose and cholesterol monitoring. There are 18 medical professionals on the mobile screening team, including a gynaecologist, dermatologist and radiologist. 'Because we have highly skilled medical doctors, as well as trained nurses, we are in a position to immediately refer patients to the closest hospital or the clinic where they come from, so that they can access treatment as fast as possible. Our [memorandum of understanding] with the National Department of Health is to do the screening, and then the uptake of the patients for whom we created a pathway to care is the state's responsibility,' said Kotschan. Community health education PinkDrive's outreach efforts extend to providing health education in the communities to which they travel, ensuring individuals are better equipped to monitor their own health. 'According to our licence, we can only do 30 mammograms a day, because we are… fully licensed via the Health Professions Council [of South Africa], so you can imagine the need versus the number that we can do. However, we're very focused on educating as well,' Kotschan told Daily Maverick. While the screening service prioritises mammograms for women over 40 years of age, the team's medical staff also show men and women of all ages how to perform clinical breast examinations on themselves. Kotschan said: 'We've found that stats worldwide are showing breast cancer is no longer an older woman's disease. The younger girls are also [at risk]. Yesterday, we picked up a 20-year-old and a 33-year-old who have definitely got breast cancer… On those women, ultrasounds are done, biopsies are done.' According to Statistics South Africa's report on cancer in South Africa (2008-19), released in 2023, cancer accounted for 9.7% of all deaths reported in the country in 2018, making it the fourth-leading cause of mortality. Working with communities Kotschan said the response to the cancer screening drive in communities had been 'amazing'. 'There's a lot of ground mobilisation that has been done… The districts and clinics where we go, their community health workers, I must commend them. They've done a phenomenal job,' she said. Residents who took part in PinkDrive's screening efforts at Motherwell Clinic in the Eastern Cape said they were thankful for the opportunity to access health checks. Speaking anonymously, one woman said: 'Today, at Motherwell Clinic, they had such great services from the PinkDrive… I had a pap smear, a lung screening, skin cancer screening, and I got the best out of everything. I would have never had the opportunity if the PinkDrive wasn't a part of it.' Mandisa Mabaso, head of government relations at Rio Tinto, said the company's partnership with PinkDrive was part of its broader social impact strategy, 'focused on balancing economic growth with environmental and social responsibility'. 'We understand that sustainable change requires collaboration, and together with experts and local authorities, we can address critical social needs for a healthier future,' Mabaso said. DM
Scotsman
18-06-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Throat Cancer Foundation urges immediate action on HPV vaccine inequality
The Throat Cancer Foundation has expressed deep concern following the BBC's reporting on significant disparities in HPV vaccination rates among young people in Scotland, particularly in the country's most deprived communities. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... According to data published by Public Health Scotland, vaccine uptake among 12–13 year-olds in the least affluent areas has dropped to just 59.9%, compared to 82.1% in the most affluent. This gap leaves thousands of young people—especially boys—vulnerable to HPV-related throat cancers, which are rising sharply in men across the UK. 'This is a public health failure in slow motion,' said Gordon Dow, Trustee of the Throat Cancer Foundation. 'HPV doesn't care where you live. The children most at risk are the least protected, and the consequences will be devastating unless this trend is reversed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Foundation echoes the concerns of Dr Claire Cameron, Consultant in Health Protection at PHS, who warned the BBC that 'inequalities are increasing' in the wake of the Covid pandemic. TCF supports Dr Cameron's call for universal vaccine confidence and equity in access, particularly in communities where trust in healthcare and education has been fractured. TCF_logo HPV—Human papillomavirus—is the cause of nearly all cervical cancers and a growing number of head, neck, and throat cancers, especially in men. Since the HPV vaccination programme's rollout in 2008, the UK has seen zero cases of cervical cancer among fully vaccinated women—a medical triumph. But awareness of HPV's link to throat cancer remains dangerously low. 'We must urgently reframe this issue, said Gordon Dow. This isn't just about cervical cancer. HPV is the fastest-growing cause of throat cancer, and most cases occur in men. Boys are not an afterthought—they are central to this conversation.' The Throat Cancer Foundation is calling for: A renewed public health campaign on the full spectrum of HPV-related cancers, including throat cancer Targeted outreach in schools in deprived areas, building on programmes like the one at Castlebrae High School, led by Dom Cairns-Gibson and Edinburgh University's BioQuarter team Collaboration with Public Health Scotland to support local vaccine confidence and education initiatives Immediate inclusion of throat cancer prevention in all HPV public messaging HPV_virus 'As one young pupil said in the BBC report, 'getting more information helps you not get scared.' We agree. We will not allow a generation of young people—especially boys—to miss out on life-saving protection because of postcode inequality or lack of awareness.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Hindu
31-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
‘Conquer HPV' conclave begins
The 'Conquer HPV (Human papillomavirus) & Cancer Conclave 2025' was launched here on Saturday (May 31) as part of a nationwide public health initiative led by the Serum Institute of India (SII). India continues to face a significant burden of HPV-related diseases, particularly cervical cancer, which remains the second most common cancer among women in the country, said a release issued here. According to the ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer (2023), India reports over 1.23 lakh new cervical cancer cases and over 77,000 related deaths annually. Apart from this, up to 90% of anal cancers & 63% of penile cancers are associated with HPV, it said. Speakers at a discussion held here on the public health implications of HPV said that early awareness and timely prevention were essential, with peak HPV infection occurring between the ages of 15 to 25, according to the release.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Docs push for HPV vax for both genders
Kolkata: Doctors in the city stressed the importance of the HPV (Human papillomavirus) vaccine for both the genders, pointing out that the virus did not discriminate between male and female and hence, it was important to adopt this gender-neutral vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancers. Though HPV causes cervical cancer in women, it can affect men with cancers of the anus, penis and oropharynx. India has an indigenously developed quadrivalent HPV vaccine, which covers four types of the virus at a lower cost. Experts, who attended the Conquer HPV & Cancer Conclave in Kolkata on Friday, said as HPV infection peaked between 15 and 25 years, early awareness and timely prevention were needed. Gynaecologists and paediatricians, who advocated for the vaccine to be part of the national immunisation programme, pointed out HPV was transmitted sexually, so the ideal time for vaccination was between 9 and 14 years, before youngsters became sexually active. The expert panel included gynaecological cancer surgeon Dipanwita Banerjee, paediatricians Pallab Chattopadhyay, Abhijit Sarkar, Jaydeep Choudhury and gynaecologists Basab Mukherjee and Dibyendu Banerjee. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sioux Falls woman spreads awareness on cervical cancer
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – January is cervical cancer awareness month and a Sioux Falls woman wants to spread awareness by sharing her personal cancer journey. In 2004, Ali Hofer found out she had an aggressive form of cervical cancer. 'I had some irregular bleeding, so outside of periods I was bleeding after intercourse, which is an unusual symptom. And so reported it to my doctor and through a series of evaluations and biopsies, determined that I had cervical cancer,' Hofer said. Doctors then determined she needed a radical hysterectomy rather quickly. 10 Commandments in school bill narrowly passes Senate 'Which is essentially where they remove everything from your ovaries down, and then they do a little bit of a removal of your lymph nodes in the surrounding pelvic area just to make sure that nothing spreading, it's a pretty common thing,' Hofer said. Following the hysterectomy, Hofer also went through six months of cancer treatment that combined chemotherapy and radiation at the same time. 'I can just speak from my experience. Mine grew really quickly. Typically, cervical cancer does not grow that quickly. Had I not pursued it, I would probably not be sitting here talking to you today,' Hofer said. Her daughter, Anna Langseth, was just turning three years old when Hofer was diagnosed. 'She would kind of try to keep it on the down low of what was really going on. But eventually, I did find out and obviously that led to conversations about the main event when I was two. So somewhere in my maybe like ten or so, that's what I found out,' Langseth said. Now 23 years old, Langseth says her mother's experience has influenced her to be an advocate for her own health care. 'Being able to understand the gravity of going through cancer, it was really scary and it makes me want to do everything I can to prevent having to go through that,' Langseth said. Part of that prevention is educating more people about Human papillomavirus or HPV, a virus that is the cause of over 90% of cervical cancer cases. In 2006, the HPV vaccine was first introduced for young women. Now the vaccine is encouraged for both men and women. 'When it first came out, there was a lot of hesitancy. There was concern because if I have the HPV vaccine, does that mean people think I'm sexually active? What does this look like? And really, it's I think taking on the role of complete just vaccine, you know, prevention of disease,' Hultgren said. Doctor Elizabeth Hultgren with Sanford Women's Health says cervical cancer is one of the unique types of cancers that are preventable by getting a vaccine. 'There's very few cancers that we can say that for. And so typically we start recommending vaccination around age nine and it's recommended to age 45,' Hultgren said. Hofer now works as the vice president for Sanford Health's Good Samaritan Society and has made it her mission to spread more awareness around cervical cancer and women's 2022 she even went to Ghana with Sanford Health to vaccinate 250 boys and girls to protect them from HPV. 'That was pretty fulfilling for me,' Hofer said. 'Kind of helped that part of the healing, and what can I do to make a difference and to give back.' Hofer says as a parent, she hopes other parents are informed about this highly preventable type of cancer. 'I didn't want her to go through what I went through. I wouldn't want anybody to go through that. But most importantly you try to protect your child,' Hofer said. 'That's a pretty strong emotion that most parents can relate to. Currently, Hofer undergoes annual screenings and even had a brush with cancer cells again in 2016 and underwent surgery. But she says she's ready for whatever comes her way. 'If something were to come up again, we'd just fight it again,' Hofer said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
