Star has cancer jab
TV host Pavarisa "Noo Whan" Penjathi yesterday became the first woman to be vaccinated against cervical cancer in Thailand.
"I am afraid of needles but I decided to get this injection because I feel this disease can happen to any woman," Pavarisa said at Bumrungrad International Hospital. The Bangkok hospital launched the vaccine to prevent cervical disease yesterday. "Women should get this vaccine because it's very important to our health," Pavarisa said. According to the hospital's gynaecologist, Dr Saowanee Karnpluemjit, cervical cancer kills between five and seven women in Thailand every day. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the vaccine last month. It is effective in protecting women from the human papilloma virus (HPV) 16 and 18 - which reportedly causes about 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer. Three shots are required for 100 per cent effectiveness. "Without the follow-up shot, the effectiveness rate is about 80 to 90 per cent," Saowanee said. According to the National Cancer Institute, 3,000 patients die of cervical cancer and 6,000 more are diagnosed with the disease every year.
|
