Huntsman's Donation "Gard's" Against Cervical Cancer/Lesions-E-press release

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
May 31, 2007
Contact:
Kimberly Gochnour
466 N. 400 E.
Provo, Ut 84606
Kimberly_ gochnour7@hotmail.com

Huntsman’s Donation “Gard’s” Against Cervical Cancer/Lesions
Donation promotes HPV vaccine, Gardasil, to help prevent cervical cancer and cervical lesions in women.
Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) ---- Jon and Karen Huntsman donate $1 million to the Utah Department of Health on April 5 to disperse HPV education and HPV vaccinations which prevent cervical cancer and cervical lesions.
After the state of Utah did not approve House Bill 358 proposing that $1 million be allocated to provide women whose insurance do not cover the HPV vaccine, Jon and Karen Huntsman took action. They donated $1 million to educating women in Utah about cervical cancer and providing the vaccine for those unable to receive it. “My quest in life and my pledge in death… is to assist the eradication of cancer in all its ugly mannerisms, irrespective of cause,” said Jon Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman Corp.
A study done by the New England Journal of Medicine proves that not only does the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, protect against cervical cancer but it also reduces the risk of cervical lesions in women. From this study researchers conclude that “98% of HPV-related high-grade cervical lesions” were prevented, according the NEJM. Out of 42 women in the placebo group only 1 woman received a cervical lesion.
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In reference to cost the study also concluded that “Everyone who gets cancer goes through a pre-cancerous stage, we spend about $3 billion each year to find and treat these precancerous stages caused by some type of HPV,” said Kevin Ault, MD.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003, approximately 11,820 women were diagnosed and 4,000 women died from cervical cancer. This high incidence of cervical cancer is exactly why Huntsman and supporters see the necessity in funding efforts to promote HPV vaccine
Cervical cancer and cervical lesions can both be prevented by the HPV vaccine. Cervical lesions rates in adolescent girls are increasing. The National Institute of Health reports that “adolescents with low and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions are about as likely as adults to have progressive disease”. Approximately out of “646 subjects 477 had low grade cervical lesions while 55 had high-grade cervical lesions,” according to Dr. Jason D. Wright, from Washington University.
For more information on the HPV vaccine, go to Gardasil.com.

About the Utah Department of Health:


The Utah Department of Health aims at keeping the residents of Utah healthy, through health programs to protect the public.

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