Vaccine Can Prevent Deadly Form of Cancer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - It's the second deadliest form of cancer in the world and in the U.S. last year, 11,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, 4,000 died. However, the epidemic can be prevented thanks to a medical breakthrough.

"Twenty-eight years, that might not be long enough for my family and for my little girl, but God knew before he created me how many days I had and I feel like I've done as much as I possibly could," said Stephanie Vasofsky.

Three months after Stephanie Vasofsky uttered those words, she lost her battle with a disease she had only been diagnosed with a few months before. She was 28-years-old, a beloved daughter, a wife and a proud mother.

"It's hard," she said. "It's really hard. I prayed so hard for a little girl, and now I don't get to see her grow up."

Her daughter Zoe is spending her young years watching the world around her respond to her mother's life, and death. Stephanie's legacy was funneled into a foundation created by close friends and family members. The annual Pray Race and Yell for a Cure Walk is just one way the group dedicates themselves to raising awareness and money to fight the deadly disease. People from all walks of life used their footsteps to fight cancer.

"That's not what you think about at 13," said thirteen-year-old Catherine Mitchell. "You think about boys and shopping. You don't think about cancer and all that stuff."

Until it hits close to home. Mitchell learned about HPV and cervical cancer after hearing Stephanie's story from her mother.

"I'd been to the pediatrician. They'd give me brochures on the Gardasil shot, but I hadn't put any thought behind it," said Catherine's mother Anita Mitchell. "I didn't see any real concern. Catherine was so young, never gave it twice a thought."

However, that changed when Stephanie Vasofsky got sick. The mother and daughter turned the awkward birds and bees talk into action, and decided Catherine would get the Gardasil vaccine.

"If you love your child, wouldn't you protect her," asked Mitchell. "Why not?"

"A lot of my friends, their parents won't let them get it because of the side effects," said Catherine. "I think to myself, the side effects don't compare to anything of that of cancer, the side effects, mild bruising, or cancer?"

Dr. Jospeh Santoso, an oncologist at the West Clinic, is optimistic about the vaccine. He called it a breakthrough in women's health care.

"This is very significant because this is one of the few times we could really prevent cancer," he said.

With cervical cancer as the number two cancer killer of women around the world, doctors are welcoming the vaccine with open arms. Santoso said abnormal Pap smear incidents, an early warning sign of the virus, have decreased since the vaccine was released. Down the road, he expects even better results.

"It's only been approved up to age 26, but we have some studies that suggest its working up to age 45 or 46-years-old, older patients as well, but the data has not been approved by the FDA," he said.

The FDA has approved the shot for women ages 9 to 26, but Santoso suggests Gardasil for older women saying protection against four strains is better than none at all.

"Ideally, it works better before sexual activity started, but even after sexual activity or abnormal Pap smears, it's still effective," he said.

Older patients are awaiting approval and hoping their chances are reduced. Women like Michelle Whitlock, a two time survivor of cervical cancer, are encouraging all mothers to protect their daughters. She never had the option.

"I think it's a choice everyone has to make for themselves, but the thing I would challenge mothers is, I know I didn't phone home for permission to have sex," said Whitlock. "I thought I was a big girl. I thought I knew the risks. I thought I was old enough to make that decision and I made it, and I made it too early."

At 17-years-old, Whitlock had to get cervical cells frozen after an abnormal Pap. Eight years later, laser surgery removed more abnormal cells. At 26, she received her first diagnosis of cervical cancer.

"We always think it's going to happen to that girl," she said. "You know, the one who misbehaves, or is risqué and promiscuous. We never think I'm that girl, but I am that girl…I got HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, and I developed cervical cancer."

Her doctor suggested a radical hysterectomy, which meant never having kids. She opted for a second opinion, and encourages all women to do so.

"Doctors are your allies," she said. "They're your tools. They're resources, but you're entitled to multiple opinions. We really need to feel comfortable being proactive and asking those questions and getting a second opinion. So many people hear the word 'cancer' and just panic, and it's like whatever my doctor is saying right now is what I'm going to do."

An alternative procedure saved her uterus, and left her with a fifty percent chance of having a child, but the cancer returned two short years later. This time, she salvaged her fertility before the surgery removed all of her reproductive organs.

"Harvest my eggs and the lab fertilized them with my husband's sperm and created little embryos, or maybe babies and we froze them...and most recently we implanted them in a surrogate and we're four weeks pregnant, and we're praying for twins," she said.

After a painful battle, Whitlock said surviving the deadly disease has had its drawbacks. But she called the journey a blessing that has given her life purpose.

"Women need to know they are not alone, there are others out there and we need to join in the sisterhood that this doesn't make you a bad person and you shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed," she said. "It's part of life. We just need to know the facts and share them, because together, our voices are stronger than mine alone."

Voices from heaven and earth, from warriors who agree education is really the best way to fight a disease that often leaves women with the most severe consequences.