GORE BAY—A Gore Bay woman is spearheading a local awareness campaign for human papillomavirus (HPV) and what can be done to curtail it, after her good friend and co-worker Theresa Rideout passed away recently from vulva cancer caused by HPV at the young age of 44.
“Our goal is to make all people aware of what HPV is and what can be done to try and prevent it and from eventually getting cancer from it,” said Valinda Fogal, last Friday. She explained the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends 11- to 12-year-olds get two doses of HPV vaccine rather than the previously recommended three doses-to protect against cancers caused by HPV. The second dose should be given 6-12 months after the first dose.
“Right now there is not the awareness out there that there should be as to what HPV is,” said Ms. Fogal. “People need to be aware of what HPV is and what they can do to help prevent it.”
Ms. Fogal noted how important it was for Theresa (when she first found out she had cancer), to get awareness out on the rare cancer she had, and HPV. In a Facebook posting dated July 22, 2015, Ms. Rideout wrote in part, “keep calm and beat cancer…yes that is what I intend on doing! This is for everyone on my list who I have forgotten to include in my phone calls…etc. I have been off work since mid April doing some doctoring to only come up with a false diagnosis. I was diagnosed after two biopsies with vulval lichen planus, with a lot of conventional treatments, this was not clearing up so I was sent to a dermatologist which took three more biopsies to confirm that yes, I have vulval cancer (squamous cell carcinoma). I am not putting this out there for sympathy or sorries or any of that. What I do want is for all the women on my list to please go get checked and make sure everything is okay!”
In a subsequent Facebook posting on September 10, 2015 Theresa wrote, “I am more than willing to educate anyone who cares to know more about vulval cancer. It’s not pretty but they say it’s the new pink so c’mon all you women out there…educate and just like breast cancer, do your self examinations.”
In her address to those at Theresa’s celebration of life ceremony, Ms. Fogal said in part, “Theresa’s quality of life those last few months was painful, dreadful and very visible. We don’t know when Theresa picked up this horrible virus, maybe at birth. But we do know it is preventable today.”
“My legacy to Theresa is the Theresa Lynn Rideout HPV Awareness Campaign,” Ms. Fogal said. “I will be calling on people for help in organizing awareness and fundraisers, I will be visiting schools, I will try to educate people.”
As part of the HPV awareness campaign, which Ms. Fogal is hoping will become national, one of the things that she is going to be doing is putting together a Facebook page in memory of Theresa. “And people will be notified when the awareness campaign is taking place. A bank account will be set up at the Bank of Montreal toward the campaign and the fundraisers we will be holding will be held to raise awareness. The funds raised will go toward the awareness campaign.”
“And we will be putting posters up around town on the fundraisers we will be holding and the awareness campaign, as well as to help any future victim of HPV with travel expenses—whatever is needed,” continued Ms. Fogal.
“Our ultimate goal is to make this education-awareness campaign nation-wide,” said Ms. Fogal. “It is our goal with the help of the community. We want to have people to share their story online. I find it very sad that there is not enough awareness of HPV and what can be done to help prevent it.” She stressed that HPV is not only a disease that can be contracted by women, it should be a concern for men as well.
Ms. Fogal noted that on January 15 an open house was held at Theresa’s and her husband Barry’s home. “It is designed to be a support type of gathering for anyone who wanted to come and have a coffee and talk. We will be having this get together once a week.”
“If I can stress that you are the owner of your own body, it is up to you to be your own doctor, and when you go to the doctor fight for yourself if you know something is wrong. If the doctor says treatment or tests are not necessary but you know something is wrong, fight for yourself and tell that something needs to be done,” added Ms. Fogal.
