As much as cancer is still a dreaded term among the larger population, we want to share the good news that we have come a long way in developing vaccines for cancer. For cancers, there are two main types of vaccines. The first type is to prevent certain viruses that can cause cancer. In this case, the vaccine has to be taken before the body comes in contact with the virus. The other type of vaccines are to prevent the cancer from spreading or recurring.
For the first category of preventive cancer vaccines, we have HPV vaccines & Hepatitis B vaccines. The HPV vaccine is a vaccine for preventing cancers such as cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, penile cancer & throat cancer by treating the HPV or human papillomavirus. We recommend that everyone should get the 3 doses of HPV vaccine but especially women who are more prone to cervical cancers. After the initial dosage on 0 day, the second one must be taken within a gap of 2 months, followed by the 3rd dose in the 6th month. For Hepatitis, which affects the liver, there’s provision for Hepatitis B vaccines which can be taken in the form of 2, 3 or 4 stages of infection, which usually offer lifelong immunity & its first dosage needs to be taken at the onset of birth.
