Experiences among Women Who Availed of the Cervical Cancer Vaccine in Cagayan de Oro City

In many parts of the world, many women discover the cervical cancer in its late stages due to lack of regular Pap testing. Early detection and treatment is essential in fighting cervical cancer. Besides this, a vaccine has been developed to prevent cervical cancer caused by certain types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This study determines the experiences among women who availed of the cervical cancer vaccines in Cagayan de Oro City, conducted last June 2009. This study was anchored on the Health belief model developed by Rosenstock et al. Data gathered were subjected to qualitative analysis. The data revealed that majority of the respondents were married, professional working women under early adulthood (20-40 years old). Most of them were Roman Catholics and were residing in Cagayan de Oro City. They availed the vaccine because of fear of acquiring cervical cancer since they have a family history of cancer and knew someone other than their relative who also has cancer. Actually, they want to protect themselves because they knew that vaccines are significantly alright to protect them from acquiring this condition. 58.33% of these women felt protected from having cervical cancer after they got the vaccine and 16.67% were confident and happy for having the assurance for the less chances of having cervical cancer. These women who undergone cervical cancer vaccinations believed would be effective for any cancer protection and prevention.

Keywords - experiences, women, cervical cancer, vaccinations