HPV Vaccination Against Cervical Cancer - Do or Don't?

To all my female readers, here's a question for you to consider.

If you know that there is a vaccination that can protect you and the important women in your life against cancer, would you take it? Or would you risk it and think that "it won't happen to me"?

I'm touching on a serious topic in my post today. Something I know I can take charge of especially for the sake of my daughter - because as her mother, I want to protect her in every way possible, for as long as I can.

Photo taken at the "Protect to Tell" - Cervical Cancer Awareness talk, held exclusively for female bloggers. Participants were invited to draw on balloons on what we like/love to do and with a short message about anything to anyone. My balloon captured the attention of the host, Shandy, during the talk.

We had two distinguished speakers at the talk -
A/Prof Anne Goh, President of Singapore Pediatric Society and
Prof Tay Sun Kuie, Senior Consultant for SGH's depart of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

What is HPV?
Human papillomavirus or HPV for short, is a common virus that can infect different parts of a body. It can cause warts on limbs or at the genitals, though most of the HPV infections are not cancerous. However, 15 out of the 130 different types of HPV strains causes cancer in the cervix, along the passage between the vagina and uterus. The great news is, getting yourself and your loved ones vaccinated against these HPV strains early, will prevent and reduce the risk of developing pre-cancers and cervical cancer. 

Statistics in Singapore show that the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased tremendously. While this is an awesome data, there are still many women out there who are at risk - the young, the old, the beautiful, the healthy, the sporty, the rich, the poor. Regardless of our status, all women are not spared. Early cervical cancer has no signs or symptoms.

Statistics have also shown that women who take charge of their lives by going for regular pap smear screenings, play a critical role in detecting any changes in cervical cells. Though pap smear tests may turn out normal for many of us, it is still not enough to protect us from cervical cancer. Did you know, women can still be infected with the virus from having just one partner?  It is so important to have a pap smear test done once in every 3 years. Or even yearly if we are able to commit financially.

Of all the information that I have gathered during the talk, my biggest question was :

WHY must this vaccination be introduced to adolescents, as young as 9 years of age?

I have only one daughter and naturally, this has been a nagging question in my mind ever since I knew the vaccine exists. Thanks to the internet, there are many articles I've read pertaining to this vaccine. Some raved about the while others vehemently slam it. Which should I believe?

I learned that the best time to vaccinate is prior to sexual debut. Studies have shown that this is a very tolerant vaccine and it's immune response is stronger when young. There is no known side effects of the vaccine, other than the possible mild fever, fatique or site pain from the injection. (It is just like the vaccinations our children obtain during infancy or booster jabs at primary school.) There is no known causes of interference with adolescent development.

For now, the decision to go for HPV vaccination is based on informed choice. So I think it is very important that we, as educated parents, make the decision for our daughters to be vaccinated against this dreadful disease as soon as possible. As much as we want to educate the young from promiscuity at an early age, it is a fact that youngsters these days, start relationships earlier. Having this vaccination is not to encourage them to engage in sexual activity. The main goal is to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Prevention is definitely better than cure.

Ladies, we all can play a part and make a difference! 
Take charge of your lives, your daughters' lives or give a friendly reminder to your loved ones and friends around you.

• Singapore Cancer Society provides free pap smear screening to ladies above 25 years old to prevent cervical cancer. Call 6221 9578 or email cancerscreening@singaporecancersociety.org.sg for more information.
• HPV vaccinations are available at polyclinics or speak to your family doctor about it. This vaccination is subsidized by Medisave for females aged between 9-26 years.

Or visit the Health Promotion Board site for more information on cervical cancer.


Till the next post, stay safe and healthy.    Have a blessed week!

Disclaimer : Protect to Tell – Cervical Cancer Awareness” on 12^th April 2014 Sat (the “Event”) was held as a lunch session, organized and sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Pte Ltd. The Accidental Mom Blogger was not paid for participating in the Event. All personal views expressed here are entirely my own.

Why, Yes. I Send My Kids To Tuition.

Flipping through the newspaper this morning prompted me to write this post where this is a hot topic raised on a national level. More so when I read a letter in the forum section by a mother which read "Tuition not necessary for good grades".

I have valid reasons for sending my children to tuition. If there wasn't any need to, I don't think I want to spend the additional money on extra classes, nor the extra time spent on ferrying/waiting which could have been better spent in quality.

As I go along in this post, I will be extracting certain portions of her letter and share how I personally feel about what was written.

"My elder daughter took her Primary School Leaving Examination last year and was among the top 10 per cent in her cohort." 

Well in this instance, I'm happy for her as a parent, who has a self-motivated and disciplined child that she need not worry about. For all we know, her daughter is just naturally born gifted and if I have children like that, I would be the least worried about her academics. 

My children are not academic ambitious, as much as I would like them to. Though this is not the reason why I send them for extra classes. 

Currently, my son in secondary one has no tuition as he already has a packed schedule with CCAs, coming home about 6pm almost everyday. It would be cruel to take away the precious time he has left to spend at home with the family, play and tackling homework each day. So I am just holding my breath that he will be self-motivated enough soon to be responsible with his revision and hope that he pulls through the weaker subjects. 

"I was shocked when my younger daughter told me recently that she was probably the only one in her class who did not attend tuition classes. Some of her classmates had two tutors for each subject, making it eight teachers for four subjects."

I am equally appalled by the sharing of the second sentence. Now this is absolutely kiasu, I must say. But then again, every child is different. And you may be surprised by how much a child can love tuition this much! No kidding! In fact, I've heard of a minority who thrive on tuition better than in school!

For us, we made the decision to send ours for tuition on their weaker subjects in school. Namely mother tongue which I wrote before on the challenges they face. Mathematics is another core subject they both can tackle however, as it is a difficult subject for me to guide them from home since there are changes to the way problems are being solved, I am not confident on giving advise on the topics as they progress. My husband would help if he is home however, we feel that they need a tutor whom they can tap on with proper resources, lest we give the wrong advice since we are not equipped with the current syllabus. So a tutor comes into the picture. It is not about having a tutor who gives more homework. It is about a tutor who can guide and explain what they do not understand from school and customize their learning journey if necessary. With understanding comes knowledge. When knowledge is applied properly, doesn't everything just fall into place?

"If teachers are doing their job, pupils are attentive in class and parents are doing their best to motivate their children and supervise their schoolwork, then there is no need for tuition to ramp up one's results."

I am very sure our teachers are doing their job. In fact, I think it's a very tough job to have to maintain everyone's undivided attention in class and ensure that every child registers what he/she teaches. In reality, I believe not everyone would. Just like my children who would sometimes let their minds drift away during class. This was what their teachers feedback.

For us, it is not so much to "ramp up one's results".  It is about being given individual attention in a small group tuition setting so that they can ask whatever without feeling the need to be embarrassed, as compared to a class of 40 in school. With this personalized setting to address their specific needs, they will grasp the topic better and would help them tackle the challenges. They still don't score exceedingly well but marked gradual improvements, even if its just by 5-10 marks, do make a difference in the grading system. Key point to note here is "improvement" or the very least, "maintenance". Not about the A stars. Though that would be a bonus!

"More importantly, not attending tuition classes gives my children an invaluable asset - the ability to allocate more time for family bonding."

Absolutely agree. However, as parents, we also cannot feign ignorance if we see our child struggling with a subject in school and recognize that they need the extra help. I feel that any parent will decide what is best for their children so that quality time will not be compromised.  

It is also times like this that I am glad to be a stay-at-home-mom because I am able to schedule their tuition on weekday afternoons without much disruption. I am an advocate of quality time with the family and determined to give my children a balanced life. Ultimately, what is most important is that we know our own childrens' needs and as parents, we must step in to address them. If we don't, who will? It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all kind of situation.

  Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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The Struggle With Mother Tongue

Mother tongue. Mandarin, to be precise. Have you had any trouble with the language? I did, back in school and now, the occasional conversation I have with foreign talents and school teachers - not so much with the general Singaporeans.

I was born in a speaking English family, during the early 70's. Not a word of mandarin was spoken until I was exposed to the language in kindergarten.  My 2 older brothers took 'Bahasa Melayu' as their second language right from the start. As for me, the option to switch the second language subject was given to me when I was in primary 2. However, as soon as I was given the opportunity to try at the Malay language, I backed out. Somehow, I was just afraid I would be worst off. Furthermore at 8 years of age, I was thinking how cool it would be when I would be the only one in the family that knew the chinese language and my family will not know when I am sharing a secret over the phone!

And so my struggle with the language was apparent ever since. The only time I got to use the spoken language was when I was playing with my neighbors and thanks to them, I picked up the conversation part fast. 99% of the time, my test scores hovered between D and F. Which was really bad. Thankfully, though my dad was a teacher himself, he had never once pushed me to master the language or had high expectations of me. But I can also see why. He knew I was not a slacker when it came to school work. He knew I worked hard and gave my utmost best. He knew I was a responsible student. I had no stress, so to speak. I only wish I possess this positive trait of him so that I can also exercise the same with my children now.

Mandarin has gotten difficult to master, in my opinion. There's more emphasis on oral to see if you can express your thoughts with more "flowery" words these days. The things my children learn in school is a far cry from what I learned. Though I help them in the language department at home, many a times, I find myself fumbling with the words they don't understand and in the end, we find them out together. And I learn new words.

A sample of what Brandon is learning in secondary one. Now seriously, if there wasn't any interpretation in English here, I wouldn't even know half of them nor have heard any of my friends using them in our conversations!

Brandon did pretty okay with mandarin in primary school. He had gotten his share of A's', B's', C's', D's' and F's' as he climbed the levels. Like Megan, Brandon has had enrichment in the language since primary 1. As one who struggled with mandarin, I identified the need to reinforce on this subject for the both of them since we too, speak English at home, 80% of the time. Both of them dislike doing their chinese homework but there is truly little we can do but to force encourage them to stay focus as much as possible because we all know, how a mother tongue subject can make or break you, if you are taking the path to junior college.

Do you know primary school kids with learning disabilities, like dyslexia, can apply to be exempted from exams on this language? This one, I am totally supportive and agree that another language will impede their learning. Children who have been away from Singapore for an extended period of time and rejoining the local school's system, can also be exempted from the subject on the basis that they were not exposed to the language. So, even though these kids will take 3 subjects instead of 4 during PSLE, their aggregate will be adjusted accordingly to be on par with those who take 4 subjects so that they don't lose out.

First thought : unfairness. That's because I know MANY children in Singapore are struggling with their chinese language, yet, they are penalized if they score low on the subject. If they barely pass or fail their paper in PSLE, their T-scores will be grossly affected.  Yet, those who can be exempted on terms other than having disabilities, are able to obtain even higher aggregates with 3 subjects, versus a child that takes 4 subjects and fail one. I do know of some who managed to be exempted after spending a lot of money to take a series of tests by psychologists, be identified as being 'slow learners' in the language thus disadvantaged if they take a 2nd language.

Though Brandon's PSLE is over, next year will be Megan's turn. This is the only subject that I see my children struggling with which they are encouraged to embrace. How then, can we instill the love for this language to our children if all they see is a stumbling block in their academic pursuits? If only the weightage of the second language is not as high as the other subjects, perhaps it would lessen the burden for those who struggle.

As I type this post, there is a tinge of heaviness in my heart to see Brandon having a harder time with his mother tongue at secondary school. His teacher will be recommending that he goes to a 'CLB' syllabus from next year onwards. If we accept this change, it would affect his entry to a junior college (JC) if he decides to take that route. Because it is not a standard chinese paper, it won't be considered as part of his total aggregate though it is still a criteria to pass the chinese paper to apply for a place in JC. According to his teacher, it will not be difficult to obtain a pass in CLB syllabus. The only disadvantage is that the ultimate scores will have to come from the rest of the subjects. In other words, he will need to score A's'.  If we decide against taking this recommended syllabus, he may not pass and will hate the subject even more. As much as I wish he can pursue the standard paper, I think the right thing to do is go with the flow and pray that he will be led to where he needs to go.

This matter has taken a toll in our relationship of late. The expectations. Losing patience. The raging teenage hormones...put them altogether and you get a volcano just waiting to erupt at 10 on a richter scale. But we will all stay positive during trying times. Life is about crossing hurdles. Whatever the outcome may be, I will keep the faith that it will all turn out well and for the better. More importantly, I just want my babies to be happy!

  Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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