Why Cervical Cancer Vaccination Is Important? Dr Sharda Jain Answers

While announcing the Interim Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government's plan for a cervical cancer immunisation program for girls aged 9-14. This has been long awaited in India due to the rapidly transmissible nature of the deadly disease. Cervical cancer, primarily caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), is the second most common cancer in Indian women. In most cases, HPV and cervical cancer go undetected in the early stages due to it being asymptomatic, which is why doctors emphasise the need for regular preventative testing. 

Thus, this year’s theme for the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January) was ‘Learn. Prevent. Screen’, which was aptly resonated by obstetrician-gynaecologist and educator Dr Sharda Jain, in an interview with SheThePeople. She spoke about the necessity of awareness and immunisation against HPV, regular screening, and also about her observations on women's healthcare over her years of vast experience.

On Awareness About Women's Health 

Dr Sharda Jain has been a crusader for women’s health for over two decades. Her journey in the healthcare field began when she stepped into Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, for her undergraduate studies. 

Speaking about why she chose to pursue medicine, Dr Jain said, “I lost my mother when I was six years old. So my father encouraged me to become the first doctor in the family." The Delhi-based gynaecologist then went on to pursue her post-graduation at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGI) in Chandigarh. She then taught at PGI for close to 20 years.

With her abundant experience in the field of women's healthcare, Dr Jain spoke about the state of affairs in India, particularly in awareness and preventative care. She expressed how women’s health has been overlooked for several years due to societal influences.

Women's health requires lots of work. However, women take pride in ignoring their own health. There is still a traditional way in which a woman looks at themselves in that they’re supposed to take care of everybody in the house, their food, their clothes, and when they are sick, but not quite of herself.

However, she said that things are now changing. She said that in her experience, financial independence has made women more likely to be attentive about their health. “Education has come a long way. Now women are going outside to work and when a working patient comes to me, and I tell her that she requires some investigations or drugs, she doesn't hesitate because the money power is with her.”

On HPV, Cervical Cancer Awareness In India

Dr Jain is passionate about several burning crises in Indian women’s health, including cervical cancer. She told SheThePeople that nearly 6% to 7% of Indian women and men are estimated to harbour cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which is sexually transmitted or by close skin contact. Dr Jain said that 1% of oncogenic (cancer-causing) HPV affected individuals die per five minutes in India. 

One of these oncogenic viruses causes cervical cancer, which has the second highest cancer-related mortality rate in Indian women, according to the National Institutes of Health. Dr Jain said that close to 75,000 people die from cervical cancer every year in India. However, awareness about this notorious disease is still very low, she said. 

Speaking about the stigma around sexually transmitted infection, Dr Jain said, “People who have cervical cancer hesitate to open up about it, which is why there is still not much awareness. You can find breast cancer survivors giving talks, writing books, and trying to create awareness about breast health. But as far as cervical cancer is concerned, those survivors are not coming forward. They think ‘I must be the wrong kind of person, that's why I've got this illness,’ which is a very wrong notion.”

Screening, Prevention, Immunisation

Dr Jain emphasised the need for women to get regular screenings, explaining how the infection goes undetected in a lot of cases if not tested. 

A majority of the time, HPV is asymptomatic. The HPV infection in the genital tract causes vaginal discharge or cervical erosion, but women take it as a part of their life because there are many other infections that have similar symptoms. It is difficult for a layperson or even a gynaecologist to know that a patient has an HPV infection unless she is screened for it.

Moreover, she talked about the necessity for HPV immunisation and awareness in India, emphasising that girls, as well as boys, should be vaccinated and educated about the illness. She said, “As a teacher myself, I believe that anything which you want to highlight in people's minds, should be taught from class one. Every child in schools and colleges must be touched. Every teacher must be touched. They must know that cervical cancer deaths (are high) in this country and this has to be prevented. And the best way to prevent HPV infection is to get (them) vaccinated before (they) get exposed (to sexually transmitted infections).”

Dr Sharda Jain optimistically promoted immunisation among Indians and emphasised the need for open discussion and awareness of HPV and cervical cancer. The purpose of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month is to create these discussions and remind survivors and experts to disseminate relevant information that could help other people out there. As Dr Jain expressed, women’s health is a lot of work, which requires active participation and patience. Thus, women should stay ahead of their health by getting regular overall tests and taking all necessary immunisations or supplements at the right time without feeling ashamed or fearful.