 I hope you enjoyed the little musical break we gave you. Oh my gosh, thank you for staying with us. And if you've just joined, good morning. How are you? It's a little bit cold, but we're determined to have a good time because you are watching the hardest breakfast show around. I don't know what to do with it. That's why I try to find Facebook at Y254Channel on Twitter. Hashtag is Y in the morning. Only thing blue about this day is my sketch. Are we together? Yeah, let us give a very warm welcome to our first guest with a very, very interesting topic. It's OK. I was not born knowing things also. So, good morning again. Hi. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. How are you? I'm good. Would you like to tell our audience who you are? My name is Dr. Lydia Tambo. I'm a medical doctor, public health specialist, infectious disease, and I'm a women's rights enthusiast. Oh, wow. And you're glowing. Thank you, thank you. Congratulations first. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. And it's not her first, she looked like a first time mom. I don't know, you look so young and good looking and I cannot imagine I've heard more than one of these, but it's OK. Welcome to the show. Thank you very much. As you have been welcomed by our members behind the scenes, at least they've prepared us for something that we can discuss, because he might be making fun, but there are people who actually legit don't know. I've heard people who claim that you have intercourse with children, like babies, and if you had HIV, you're suddenly cured. That's amazing. And people that had believed, yo, hello, it's not true. Don't do it, OK? It's not true. So maybe we're going to break some of the myths that come around cervical cancer and HPV. But maybe tell us what the difference is. What's cervical cancer? What's HPV? So we'll start by saying that there is a virus called human papilloma virus. Categorically, they are divided into two. There is the one that is not dangerous, and then there is the dangerous one. So there are different subtypes, up to 40 subtypes. But the ones that we really fear are subtypes 16 and 18. And those ones are the ones that lead to cervical cancer. The rest lead to skin warts, genital warts, which can be managed and treated and controlled. That sounds very uncomfortable. Yes, they can be uncomfortable if not managed. OK. So it sounds malignant and benign. Yes, so there's benign. There's a benign aspect to it and a malignant aspect to it. So let's talk about the scary ones. 16 and 18, what does that even mean? So HPV is considered to be a sexually transmitted condition. So you have sex, and your partner exposes you to the virus. If you get the subtypes 16 and 18, then it comes and causes now the malignant changes in you. As we said, it is sexually transmitted. And you know, sex has different variations. There's oral sex. Therefore, you can get oral cancer. There's an aspect of anal sex for the homosexuals or for the heterosexuals who engage in that. Therefore, you can have anal sex. For men who have sex, which is the majority of the population, it means you can get penile sex. And for the women, yes. Or you can get penile cancer. And for the women, then you have a spectrum of vulval cancer, vaginal cancer, cervical cancer. So the whole spectrum, all the organs down there can get cancer. So it's a risky game. So it's a risky game. OK. I don't know if you're a buyer, but we must educate each other. OK? I don't know if you're a buyer or not. Please go ahead, OK? It's fun. You think it's exciting. And yes, it's pleasurable. Sitakata. But you know, the lyrics of the songs that are trending right now are anything to go by. That means the population is getting sexually active at a very young age. Actually, in Kenya, we have a sexual debut of around 12 to 15. Yes. So it's a break, right? Yes. And it's a grown-up. Yes. So by the age of 15, about 10% of our girls are pregnant and ready to be mothers. That's so devastating. Yeah. But OK, does the cervical cancer or HPV, do they vary? Is it a possibility that someone younger would get it at a higher risk of getting it than someone else who's a bit older? Let's just say, by the time you're exposed, do you can get it? Exposure? Again, depending on your immunity and various factors. But once you're exposed, you can get it. It's not impossible to get it. And the more times you're exposed, the more times you get it. For example, if you have your sexual debut at 12 years, it's unlikely that you may have that same boyfriend by age 20. But someone else who has sexual debut at 27, you probably have two or three partners, or one or two. However, if you started at 12, you may have more partners. So the more the exposure, the more the likelihood of contracting it. So that's why we say, because Kenya has a sexual debut of what? 12 to 15 years, get the vaccine early. How early is early? Essentially, 9 to 12 years. And what does the cost look like? Is it expensive? How many shots? Yes, the variation, there's 12,000, there's 3,000. But you get, so let's discuss the risk factors, then we'll come down to. So if you have sex early, it means you'll have more partners. If you have many partners, it means you'll have more exposure. Let's expound there first. That means, if you have a boyfriend, then you have your actual boyfriend, who may sponsor. Why? Run shot, choker. And you're just keeping it there, rotating, rotating, rotating. And out of those four people, of those four partners, also have their own partners. So already, it's a sub-partnerable game. Yes, so that increases your exposure. Yes, so early sexual debut, having many partners, your immune status, all those things contribute to getting exposed and getting the infection. So we propose that the best way to manage such a condition is weight, abstinence. OK, but use condom. OK, like that. Have less partners. But if you've been exposed, then you have, for example, the skin condition, this medication that can be given to you to control that. If you have now, we say, vaccinated, so that you don't get the cervical cancer, go for screening, get your pap smears done. You know, yeah, so that's what we advocate for. OK, but I want to imagine, because we are targeting the youth. Yeah, we are targeting the youth. There's an age bracket of which, let's say, does not have their own financial manpower. And they're dependent on someone. What happens if the people they're depending on cannot really, it's either a kule or a vaccine. There are programs that are promoting and supporting the youth to get the vaccine. I like that. What programs are those? Well, we can leave the contact later, but there are programs that are supporting. So that they can reach out, because it's important. People are just out here, just enjoying life. I don't know if you're saying, yes, you only live once, but it's a little scary. What do these skin conditions look like? Well, the skin conditions can start as small, minute lesions. However, depending on your immune status and how long you have them for and how you manage them, they can actually become big and become, you know, like cauliflower. They look big and quite. Once you see one, you'll never forget it, actually. I'm having goosebumps just thinking about it. So it's just... And it's spread by contact. Yeah? Yes. So for people who like, for example, chewing their nails, it can be a source. And you get into contact with someone who has the skin lesions. It can come in. For people who have sex, of course, the condom will protect against the cervical cancer, but it won't protect against the skin, yeah. So you can get lesions. Yes. OK. All right. And you said something about maybe lesions in the genital area. So if someone is maybe an endocrine, what are these, what's going on? Yeah, it's good to have them checked. There are medications that can be used to control that and manage that. What's the case scenario we surgically excise them? That sounds so painful. Yes. OK. So according to statistics, out of every 100,000 women, there are 33 suffering from cervical cancer. What does that mean for Ken? In Kenya, that means that we have a population of women, ex, and out of those women, statistically now, as we speak, breast cancer is top of the list. So we have a lot of women suffering from breast cancer. And cervical cancer is the second most common cancer. So for breast cancer, it's usually genetic. Your mother has it, therefore, you have it. And there are few other factors that can cause you to get breast cancer. But for cervical cancer, there is a cause and effect. And there is a vaccine that has been known to be protective and is successfully so. So what you are saying is, if we empower our women and empower our youth, and even tell our boys that join the bandwagon, come, let's learn about cervical cancer, let's get vaccinated, let's do our ABCs, abstinence, be faithful, use a condom, have less partners, stay in school and learn. You don't have to get into relationships very early. If we do all those things, then we will be able to contain the spread of the HPV virus. So what you are saying is cervical cancer is killing many women. However, with information and knowledge, perhaps we can change the narrative. Do men get vaccinated too? Men should get vaccinated too. Hello. Isi Ugonjawa-Stana, please. And how does this affect men? Because I think that when you go to school, you have to go to school. That's the only time maybe they'll feel that they really need to do something about something. Yeah, as we said, it is sexually spread. So they can get penile cancer. Yeah. Please get vaccinated. Please get vaccinated. It's very serious. It's not just a female thing. See, it's not a period stuff at the early. Even when you're affected, all right? Please get vaccinated. All right, so you were telling me something about the cost. I don't know what the cost is. Cost, there are two types of vaccines. There's Gardasil and then there's Savarex. So Gardasil has two variations. There's one that has, that covers two. And then there's the other variant that covers almost nine subtypes. So it covers the 16 and 18, which we really want to target. And then a few more of the skin ones. So of course, the one that has more will cost more. Then there's Savarex, which targets the 16 and the 18. So if you want broader protection, then you get the Gardasil that has more. However, as we said, there are more subtypes. There are many subtypes. And depending on your immunity, you can get this one and your body can be able to fight it off, depending on your immunity. Yeah, so what we do is try to protect you from the most dangerous ones. Yeah. You've mentioned immunity a lot. What would be factors that affect someone's immunity? Someone's immunity can be affected by your age. The younger you are, the older you are, it affects your immunity. If you're diabetic, if you have a kidney problem, if you have HIV and AIDS, if you're malnourished, if you have cancer, if you're on chemotherapy, all those things affect your immune status and compromise your immune status so that your immune status is not able to fight and protect your body the way it should. I did not imagine AIDS was one of the biggest news to me. Does the vaccine have side effects by any chance? Yes, the vaccine has side effects, but just minus side effects. It's an injection. So you get swelling at the area, pain, redness. You can get a fever, but nothing dramatic. Vitos in Asia? Vitos in Asia. The process of getting a vaccine is really tedious and long and protracted and expensive. And there are very many mechanisms that are in place to ensure that the vaccine is safe. And even when you get the vaccine and you probably get a side effect, like fever, we have mechanisms in place that report that and document that with a view of managing the side effects. So it's the same way. If you have a headache, you use panadol. And you trust that panadol will work for you. Yes, so we health workers try to ensure that actually what we're giving you is safe. It may have minus side effects because if you compare cancer and fever and headache and redness. Yeah, it's okay. I'd rather have the redness fever. Yeah. Okay, maybe let's go to the common misconceptions that perhaps cervical cancer is for rich people. Cervical cancer is not for rich people. Cervical cancer is for everybody. Yeah, if you get a partner and unfortunately the partner has been exposed, you can get it. I can get it. Yes. Anyone can get it. We will not mention names or point any fingers. I won't point fingers. Yes, but at this is a... You are more prone to getting cervical cancer if you're not sexually active. So the more times you have sex, the more it's kind of suffocating. Yeah, I don't know what... It's okay, but it's a school of thought. And if he's thinking like that, then there must be someone out there who's actually in that belief. No, no, no. Cervical cancer, the best way to protect yourself is to try and minimize exposure as much as possible. Yeah, so start having sex later rather than earlier. If you're going to have sex, then try and stick to one partner. If you're gonna stick to one partner, use a condom or be faithful. So things like that. So minimize your risk and exposure. So what are we telling the 15-year-olds, by the guys who are going back to school? What are we telling them who are going back to school? What is that kind of advice? Is it abstain? Okay, fine, now that you've already decided having sex, okay, now what? So we are saying be smart. It's not only cervical cancer that is out there. There is HIV. And HIV, one exposure can make you have the virus and get the disease. But under the impression that nowadays, that ladies are not even afraid of HIV. They're more afraid of getting pregnant out of wedlock than anything else. Yeah, because pregnancy shows. Every day of sex. And HIV, you can sort of live with it for a while. But HIV has a condition, HIV and AIDS. Again, if you don't take care of yourself and eat well and stay healthy and stay positive, it can affect your health, your nutrition. It affects your family because then they have to start taking care of you. It's an expensive process. You have to get medication. So you have to be ready to pay the price. You're doing big girl and big boy things. You must be ready for big girl and big boy consequences. Okay, so let's say I want to give an example of someone who already has the cancer, cervical cancer, or penile cancer or all these things. Is there like a cure? Or it's just chemo and all that and just hope for the best? So what we advocate for is once you're sexually active, please go for your pap smears. Once a year, cervical cancer can be treated and or managed, especially in the early stages. It can be treated and managed and successfully so. However, we hardly go for a pap smears, which means then that we hardly catch it early. So by the time we are getting patients coming in and the cancer has spread, then managing it is harder and more expensive and more emotionally draining. And so we say, go for your pap smears. If you haven't started having sex, don't. Like wait a bit longer. If you are having sex, get your vaccine. Yeah, so that's what we're saying. Screen, screen for it. If you're already having sex or you are married or you have been, I mean, if you've started life for the rest of us who are older. But then there is a caveat there that states that we want to vaccinate our younger population. However, if you're 27, 27 year olds have started life. Probably have one or two babies, you know? So for the younger ones, we'll vaccinate them two times. For the older ones, if you come and you're 27 and around there, we'll vaccinate you three times. Yeah, so there's still an opportunity for vaccination up to around 27, 30. Beyond that, get your pap smears and let's monitor and see if you've been exposed and we manage it early because early management means success in terms of treatment and outcomes. I like the way you're so composed and positive about this. In case you missed the side effects of the vaccine, it's redness, fever, or a little bit of swelling in the said area. But it goes away. So redness, fever, swelling, cervical cancer. We'll talk about it later. Cyndio, WhiteFive on Facebook at WhiteFive on Twitter. Hashtag is white in the morning. How would you like to maybe in a nutshell, if they missed the entire interview and this is the point that they're catching it, what would you like them to take home? I would like you to take home that cervical cancer is killing people, reality, fact. Cervical cancer is out there and it's killing people. And cervical cancer is caused by a virus called human papilloma virus. Human papilloma virus is sexually transmitted. So once it's sexually transmitted, the man can get effects from having the infection and the woman can get effects from having the infection. Men will get penile cancer, anal cancer. Women will get the whole spectrum of cervical cancer, vulva cancer, vaginal cancer, and anal cancer. However, if you engage in oral sex, you can also get oral cancer due to the HPV infection. But what we are also saying is that the ABCs that we know from HIV are also applicable in the management of HPV. You know, abstain for as long as you can, be faithful to your partner, use a condom when you need to. If you are young and you have been exposed, then there's still room for vaccination up to the age of 27. If you haven't been exposed, please get vaccinated, both boys and girls. And ultimately, we say for the older population, please get your pap smears, at least once a year, so that we can monitor you, because when we catch it early, we are able to manage it and the outcomes are better. Have you ever had a patient with cervical cancer? Yes, I have. What was the reaction like when you told them, oh my gosh, I could have fixed this, or oh my gosh, I never knew it existed. What was the reaction? Actually, the financial muscles makes a huge difference, because the first patient, I saw had cervical cancer that I interacted with on a personal level, was at a public facility, and they couldn't afford all those tests you were sending them for. And unfortunately, we don't take our NHIF cards that can support us during these hard times. So of course, the outcome was not as we would have wanted it to be, and they came late. So there was really not much we could do in terms of management and outcomes. However, in the private sector, patients who have good insurance cover and medical cover, I mean, we see good outcomes when they come early. However, again, when they come late, then the outcomes may not be as good as we want them to be. So what we are saying is, get your Pap smears. Pap smears are very common when you get in the check. So basically, whether you have a very fat wallet or very slim, just go check yourself early. Early is key. Pap smear is not a surgical procedure. It's not. Yeah, so they just go in there and use a brush and just, you know how you brush your teeth, and they just, so they can just take a swipe. So they take a swipe and then they go examine the cells and then they are able to tell how that area is doing. Because if there is a change in the cells, then we are able to tell, is this malignant? Is it benign? And then we can manage it very quickly. So it's not a surgical procedure. Please go and get your Pap smears. It's not painful. In fact, most women describe it as uncomfortable. It's just cold. It's cold and uncomfortable. But it's not painful. Please get your Pap smear. You heard the doctor, okay? Please get yourself checked, get the Pap smear. And for guys who don't necessarily do the Pap smear thing, how do they get checked? Pap smear currently is the gold standard. Even for guys? For men. Yeah, for men, well, we can also do a bit of swabbing here and there to check. No prostate invasion. We had a conversation once and they just wanted to die. They would rather just even. They would rather die than have the prostate checked. Well, prostate check, there's of course the manual check that we do, but there are also different parameters that we can check from the blood. We can do. Buonasphäre. Yeah, the ideological tests for that, yeah. So it's not as bad as, yeah. As it used to be. As you think. You don't have to bend over anymore. You can just get your blood checked and things are fine. The basic point is, please do get checked. Okay. Let us live long. Let us live wonderful and fruitful lives. Nakoko, gamia, sex. It's okay, you have sex if you want. But you heard, if you get exposed, you know what to do. Big boy, big girl things require you to be ready for big boy, big girl consequences. So get yourself checked. Try to be faithful. Use a condom as, please use a condom. Like kunazines ko fri itam, so. All right, I think someone had a question somewhere. But because of time, we're just gonna have to call it a wrap. How can we find you outside of here? Well, I practice at Matahospital. Yes, that's where I can be found. Do you have like a, do you have a Facebook page? Yes, I have a Facebook page. Please tell us your handle. Lydia Mwanza, yeah. So we can just slide in and maybe ask. Please slide in and ask your questions. Yes, whatever. That's wonderful. Whatever, whatever need you have, we can see who to you refer you to, yeah. Oh, I like that. Guys, do you know how much consultation is in her? She's just agreed you can go to her Facebook page. Do like you. One more time, the handle. Lydia Mwanza. All right, thank you so much, Dr. Lydia. Thank you very much for having me. Yeah, so do you. All the best, make choices that you'll be proud of in the next few years. I want to imagine that even I, at some point in my life, I didn't really think of the future. Like, I want to drive you on a home on Zasai. I never sat down and thought maybe Val would want this in the future, maybe she'd want a family and maybe it would be like two young women, which is a game safe. Yeah, but you guys, just do like you and be safe. Be safe. At Y-5 on Facebook, at Y-2-5 on Twitter. Hashtag is Y in the money. Stand by for K-Alex with youth and politics.