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TORONTO (CP) - A new vaccine to help in the fight against cervical cancer is now available in Canada - and cancer survivor Brigitte Leclerc says she made sure her two daughters were first in line.
Earlier this year, Leclerc, 40, was diagnosed with an advanced form of cervical cancer and underwent major surgery in June to fight the disease.
On Monday, Leclerc sat in while her daughters Cindy, 16, and Nadia, 22, received their first dose of the new vaccine in Montreal.
She said afterwards that she was so happy she felt like crying.
"(Now) I know that they won't have this cancer and won't die (from it)," she said from Montreal.
The vaccine, called Gardasil, was approved by Health Canada in July and is now being made available to physicians and pharmacists across the country, said its manufacturer Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.
Sheila Murphy, public affairs manager for Merck Frosst, said she heard about Leclerc and her desire to speak up about her cancer through Leclerc's physician.
Murphy said Merck Frosst paid for Leclerc's daughters to be vaccinated as a "charitable contribution," since Leclerc had been off work for two months recovering from her operation and only went back to work Monday.
Gardasil works by protecting against infection from four strains of human papilloma virus (HPV), which are known to cause about 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer as well as cancer of the vulva, vagina and genital warts.
Paul Lapierre, director of public affairs and cancer control for the Canadian Cancer Society, said having the vaccine is wonderful - but it should not be viewed as the magic solution to cervical cancer.
About 30 per cent of cervical cancers will not be prevented by the vaccine, he said.
"We need to look at the vaccine as a complement to and not a replacement for cervical cancer screening."
Currently, screening for cervical cancer involves a Pap test, which can detect abnormal cells that may become cancerous.
The Canadian Cancer Society reccomends that women who are sexually active have a Pap test every one to three years, depending on provincial guidelines.
Gardasil costs about $135 per dose and was approved for girls and women between the ages of nine and 26.
It takes three doses over a six-month period to become fully vaccinated againse the four strains of HPV.
In July, the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said it was reviewing scientific data and expected to make recommendations by the end of this year on whether provinces and territories should fund mass immunization programs.
Lapierre said "the federal government should show some leadership by making the vaccine available free of charge."
The most common side effects of Gardasil are injection-site pain, swelling and redness, itching and fever.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, an estimated 1,350 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2006, and 390 will die from the disease in Canada.
Leclerc said she will continue to try to raise awareness about the dangers of cervical cancer because "a lot of people don't even know that you can die (from it)."
© The Canadian Press, 2006
