The New York Times
letters@nytimes.com
September 26, 2011
Dear Editor Donald G. McNeil Jr.:
Today, you reported that Thailand is moving toward putting an end to cervical cancer’s success as the number one cancer to slay women, via the innovative use of household vinegar. This is fascinating for me because my father just passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer, which is pretty much incurable. In this way, your report provides me with assurance that the medical field is doing none more than progressing by means of preventative care. Your report educates the public on the advancement of healthcare for poorer populations, which is significant because, according to the NIH, nearly fifty million Americans are uninsured. One thing that can really make a difference in this development is if the U.S. got on board to improve the process of screening with vinegar in order to effectively, and inexpensively, prevent cervical cancer in not only developing countries, but potentially in the United States as well.
Sincerely,
Ieshia Sheppard
3005 Ellis Street Apt E. Berkeley, CA 94703
510-332-1990
Ieshia, I agree with you that this is great evidence that medical field is progressing with prioritizing screening and preventative medicine. The fact that decades ago cervical cancer was the leading cancer killer in women and now it lags behind other cancers shows the extent that preventative medicine and screening can really have an effect on peoples lives and the medical field should keep putting their focus on it. Even though the pap smear can and is used widely in the US, a woman only gets routine ones if they have and routinely visit a gynocologist. I'm sure a large portion of the population, especially people without health insurance, do not have the means or funds to regurarly visit the gynocologist. This vinegar treatment that has been adopted by other countries, could be used by doctors in the US other than gynocologists if young women who do not routinely have pap smears come into hospitals and emergency rooms want to be screened for cervical cancer. This would give a substantial amount of women access to a preventative measure that has been shown to save hundreds of lives.
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