PARENTS URGED TO SIGN AWAY CANCER

Oracle Cancer Trust have launched their latest campaign encouraging parents to sign consent forms for their children when they are offered the HPV vaccine at school.

To mark International HPV Awareness Day, the charity today released a video with cancer survivors and clinicians talking about the importance of getting young people vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV).

80% of people will develop a high-risk HPV infection at some point in their lives that can lead to head and neck, cervical, genital and anal cancer as well as genital warts*. HPV cancers have doubled over the last two decades and its one of the fastest growing cancers in the UK.

Both boys and girls are at risk of developing cancers caused by the virus when they grow up, but only 56% of girls and 52% of boys were vaccinated in 2022 in the UK, lagging well behind other countries where take up of the vaccine is higher**. It is one of the few cancers that has a vaccine and could prevent over 100,000 cancers by 2058***.

The HPV vaccine is offered to all Year 8, 12- to 13-year-olds across UK schools with parental consent, with a free catch-up programme up to the age of 25 for girls and for any boys born after 2006.

Tamara Kahn, CEO of Oracle Cancer Trust said: “It’s really important for parents to understand that they have the power to prevent their children ever having to suffer from the consequences of the virus. We know that the vaccine is 99% effective****, but take-up has been slow across schools. Most of the time HPV does not cause any problems and people may not realise they have the virus. However, in some people, certain types of HPV can cause certain cancers.

I want to urge all parents to sign the consent forms when they receive them, your signature holds the key to ensuring your child has a reduced risk of facing head and neck or other cancers associated with the HPV virus.

I know I will be signing the form for my girls because I know that preventing cancer beats curing it. I want all parents to come together and help us spread the word as we fight to sign away cancer.”

Oracle Cancer Trust work tirelessly to fund pioneering research into and raising awareness of head and neck cancers. The trust is the leading Head and Neck cancer charity in the UK, and also provides support and advice to people and families who have been affected by head and neck cancers.

For more information and to watch the video please visit: www.signawaycancer.com

To find out more about Oracle Cancer Trust please visit https://oraclecancertrust.org/about-us

For more information about International HPV Awareness Day please visit: HPV Awareness Day 2024 | International HPV Awareness DayHPV Campaign (askabouthpv.org)

*Let’s talk about HPV: 6 common questions answered – Cancer Research UK – Cancer News

** https://immunizationdata.who.int/pages/coverage/hpv.html (HPV vaccination program coverage last dose, males (last dose, females) 2020 – 2022)
*** https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hpv-vaccine-could-prevent-over-100-000-cancers
****HPV Vaccine (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine) | Vaccine Knowledge Project (ox.ac.uk); https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2024/january/no-cervical-cancer-cases-detected-in-vaccinated-women-following-hpv-immunisation/

We have a vacancy on our BAHNON committee.  We are a great support group of like minded nurse specialists.  If anyone is interested and would like more information about what it involves, please drop us an email to:   bahnonurses@gmail.com

Did you attend our conference last year, check out our post conference report with photographs.  We had some fabulous feedback and as a Committee we are all proud to have put on such a successful conference.  If you missed out, check out the report – we are busy planning our conference for 2025, so watch this space!

RM Head Neck and Thyroid Study Day Programme (004)