Roadshow aims to be lifesaver

Aug 6 2008 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Wednesday

A ROADSHOW aimed at telling teenage girls about the Scottish Government’s HPV immunisation campaign and how it can protect them against cervical cancer will be in Stirling on Sunday.

It is backed by a national advertising and information campaign that aims to raise awareness of what is the NHS in Scotland’s first ever mass anti-cancer vaccination campaign.

The vaccination will be offered on a routine basis from this September to girls in S2 at high schools. A three-year catch-up campaign also begins this year to vaccinate girls aged 13-17, including those who have already left school.

Immunisation will protect girls against two strains of HPV (human papilloma virus) that cause around 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

Public health minister Shona Robison said: “Cervical cancer kills more than 100 Scottish women every year and touches the lives of many hundreds more.

“Through this simple, effective vaccine we can ensure future generations are protected against the virus responsible for almost three-quarters of cervical cancers.

“The lifesaving HPV vaccination is an enormous public health breakthrough that will help prevent young Scottish women from developing a potentially deadly disease.”

Dr Anne Maree Wallace, director of public health at NHS Forth Valley, said: “Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women worldwide and this immunisation is vital in the fight to significantly reduce future cervical cancer rates in the Forth Valley area.

“We are committed to delivering the programme and helping to protect young people in the area from a devastating and life-threatening disease.”

The HPV vaccine does not take the place of regular cervical screening. The NHS sasys it is vital that girls who are vaccinated attend for screening every three years between the ages of 20 and 60.

The Scottish Government has set aside £64 million over the next three years, with health boards receiving an additional £1.5 million in 2008-09 to administer the HPV campaign. Around 30,000 will be routinely immunised each year, with an extra 120,000 girls and young women immunised in the catch-up campaign.

Sunday’s roadshow will be in the Thistle Centre from 11am-5pm.