Sometimes the simpler the treatment the better.
While industrialized nations like the US push human papillomavirus
(HPV) vaccines like Gardasil and Cervarix as a preventive measure in the
fight against cervical cancer, rural villages in Thailand and other
areas are taking a different, more natural approach.
The New York Times
(NYT) reports that many clinics in poorer villages are successfully
preventing and treating cervical cancer using simple vinegar.
Experts
from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine developed a simple
procedure involving vinegar and carbon dioxide that successfully
locates precancerous white spots on the cervix, and allows them to be
removed with a cooled, metal probe. The procedure is simple,
inexpensive, and safe, say experts, and has helped to significantly
reduce the cervical cancer rate in primarily Asian, rural villages.
The
Pap smear, a procedure commonly used in developed countries to identify
the presence of cervical cancer, is not as effective in poorer areas
due to a lack of testing laboratories. So when samples are taken, they
have to be sent to distant facilities where they can take weeks to be
evaluated -- and the women waiting for the results are often difficult
to locate as they typically live far from clinics.
But the
vinegar and carbon dioxide procedure is simple. By applying vinegar to
the cervix, a nurse can identify the presence of precancerous spots,
which will turn white upon contact, and remove them using a cryotherapy
device that freezes them. And the best part is that the entire procedure
can be completed during the first visit.
The procedure is not
foolproof, however, as it can falsely identify harmless spots as
malignant, leading to unnecessary cryotherapy procedures. But it is
still the easiest, safest, and most effective way to help women in rural
villages avoid cervical cancer, claim some experts.
"Some
doctors resist; they call it poor care for poor people," said Dr.
Wachara Eamratsameekool, a gynecologist at Roi Et Hospital in rural
Thailand, to NYT. "This is a misunderstanding. It's the most effective
use of our resources."
The procedure is definitely a better
approach than getting a Gardasil or Cervarix shot series, like many
women and young girls in the US are being prompted to do. These vaccines
are alleged to help prevent cancer from forming the type of spots that
the vinegar treatment is designed to eliminate -- but HPV vaccines do
not prevent cervical cancer as their manufacturers claim they do.
Sources for this story include:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/h...
Jonathan Benson - NaturalNews
