welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Monday, August 29, 2022

zero cases of cervical cancer is how many we should see now

ZERO CASES OF CERVICAL CANCER IS HOW MANY WE SHOULD SEE NOW

john hopkins medicine
this is an hbo movie or documentary on henrietta lacks who died from cervical cancer
a disease we shouldnt be seeing at all today in the us
but
sadly we are


amazon.com book review
i read this book several years ago
its story is one that sticks with you

basically she was a poor black person who had cervical cancer 
a biopsy of the cancer was used to make the diagnosis but they also used the cells now called he la to use in clincial research in the labs
her he la cells were grown in the lab and was used all over the world since for research or cerival cancer and other cancers

she never gave permission to have her cells used in such a manner
she died from cervical cancer

because of law suits from her family for the unauthorized use of her cells
now whenever anything from your body is going to be used for research you have to sign away your rights to those cells

eg
i had to sign away my rights to my stuff when they are obtained from the research studies im in
eg
ekgs blood work dna samples rna samples mris amyloid pet scans tau pet scans glucose metabolism tests memory tests neurological medical records and my full human genome

i see frequently research papers about research on alzheimers that is using some of my personal research tests
eg
one comparing memory testing and pet scans and mris over 5 years showing how changes occur in mci and early alzheimers

i agree to not get paid for this 
i also agree to not get to see any of my results

i must say because of her he la cells that have been used in research that a lot was learned about cervical cancer

we know enough that we know now we shouldnt see any cases
but
we are

we seem to be regressing some 

i read this npr article yesterday about this

a female should have a pap smear starting at 21 then every 3 years
they also should have a hpv test done 

any abnormal pap smear should be evaluated further
biopsy early on when cells are just changing can be treated easily by treating the cervix
the cure rate at this stage is over 90%

if you wait until it gets to stage 4 the 5 year survival rate is close to 17%
so a 30 year old who gets stage 4 cervial cancer will more than likely not make it past 35

hpv is the most common std there is
its a virus that almost all of us get exposed to
in females it can change the cervical cells into cervical cancer

so
this virus causes cervical cancer

a vaccine called the hpv vaccine is given around 12 years old
it prevents infection by the most common types of hpv virus
such prevention can prevent abnormal paps and cervical cancer

its important to get the hpv vaccine before sexual exposure occurs

remember almost all all of us have hpv exposure

around 50+% of teens are fully vaccinated against hpv
around 70+-% of teens have at least one shot of hpv

hpv also cause oropharyngeal cancer anal cancer and penile cancer

these hpv cancers are mostly preventable
pap smears and hpv testing can discover the early changes that can occur on the cervix

 
now there is starting to be an uptick in cervical cancer
especially the stage 4 stage

the top group that seems to be affected the most is middle age white women 40-44 in the south

why
women arent tied to getting that annual exam and pap anymore
access to womens health care is being restricted either by economics or new laws limiting womens health care
when i was in practice most of the females who were uninsured got their female care and exams at the planned parenthood or other clinics that gave free or reduced cost care
those have been harder to access
some women just arent doing their recommended female health care visits
many parents wont let their kids get vaccinated for hpv
thankfully its more accepted now than it was a few years ago

these stage 4 cervical cancer patients are females in their 30s and 40s
they are mothers sisters aunts siblings of yours
hopefully not you

i wonder what effect the pandemic and the lack of female health care will have on these statistics
i expect the cervical cancer cases will tick up 
i expect the hpv vaccine rate probably dropped during that time

these effects from the pandemic and the lack of care may not show up for 10-15 yeats
as increased abnormal paps and increased cervical cancer rates

we know how to prevent and treat early cervical cancer
its one of the few cancers we can say that bout it

the organicgreen doctor

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