Dr. Linda Eckert Leads the Charge - 'Enough: Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer'

Professor of obstetrics and gynecology with an Infectious Disease Fellowship at the University of Washington, Dr. Linda Eckert, stops by Writer’s Voices to discuss her important new book, Enough: Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer. Dr. Eckert’s book is a vital resource that focuses on cervical cancer education, prevention, and treatment, and is filled with inspiring stories of women who have survived this disease. For her, “…the anger at watching so many women that I’d cared for, or known, or known of, die from a preventable cancer and the impact that has on their families, and even if they don’t die, the impact the treatment has on their bodies… I just felt like if people understood this disease and knew more about it and knew how preventable it was, then I would hope we could change the narrative.” One of the most important preventative measures that parents can take to ensure their children are safe from this cancer is getting the HPV vaccine at an early age. Dr. Eckert says, “It is what we call a preventive vaccine, and not a treatment vaccine. So, it prevents HPV infections… at a very high level. This is a crazy effective vaccine! It’s like 99% effective against preventing new infections with HPV-16 if you get it into your body before you’re exposed to HPV-16. We don’t have vaccines that are 99% effective, so, I mean, this is crazy how good this vaccine works!’

As far as who should read her book, Dr. Eckert said it’s not only for medical professionals, but for anybody concerned with women’s health. “It’s really geared for the general public, and so I think that I’m continuing to work to get it out into general public audiences… I see this as a way for, especially now… as a general public, we really need to figure out ways to arm ourselves with accurate information and so I really see this as a book that anyone can pick up and read and get some understanding about a problem, you know, HPV-associated cancers and also about the vaccine, but also then the stories are just so, they’ve inspired me. Knowing these women has changed me.”