Jab account #1

I took the first of 3 Gardasil jabs last night.

Gardasil, my doctor told me, protects against 4 human papillomavirus (HPV) types (Types 16, 18, 6, and 11), a “common virus spread through skin-to-skin contact and infects about half of all sexually active men and women at some point in their lives”. HPV is the cause of almost all cervical cancers.

Based on friends’ accounts, the jab seemed like a painful process, with side effects like fever and soreness in the arm (so sore that it cannot be lifted to buckle the bra). Thus, I had put aside my plans to take the jab for more than 2 months. It was with some trepidation that I visited the clinic last night, but the jab was over in a second. The ant-bite sting strayed for a minute or two, and then it was gone.

 

Some facts I retrieve from the little info booklet:

• Cervical cancer is

 - the second most common cancer affecting women worldwide, and the fifth most common cancer affecting women in Singapore

 - the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, with a monthly average of 7 deaths among women in Singapore

• Types 16 and 18 account for about 70% of all cervical cancers; types 6 and 11 are non-cancerous strains but account for 90% of all genital warts.
• Cervical cancer may take up to 20 years to develop from initial HPV exposure.