The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has become so widespread that there are doctors who compare it to the common cold. While some forms cause cervical cancer, others result in genital warts. According to the American Cancer Society:
In the United States, over 6 million people (men and women) get an HPV infection every year. Almost half of the infections are in people between 15 and 25 years of age. About one-half to three-fourths of the people who have ever had sex will have HPV at some time in their life.
To see what the ACS recommends, read more.
Though the only way to prevent HPV is abstinence, a vaccine prevents some forms that cause cervical cancer. So, the ACS recommends that to be most effective, the vaccine should be given to females before they are sexually active and in a series of 3 doses within 6 months starting with girls as young as nine-years-old.
Would you let your girl get the vaccine?
Dolce & Gabbana
Hudson
RED Valentino
I'm 21 and I don't think I am going to get the vaccine. I don't like the fact that it hasn't be on the market very long. I am afraid of the long term side effects (we have no idea what they could be!).... yes I know there has be "extensive research", but I would still like for it to be out longer before I get it. Unfortunately isn't the cut off age at around 26? I don't think that is long enough for me. Perhaps by the time I have kids (26ish) and then she reaches the appropriate age I'll feel better about it.
1My dr spoke to me about getting it and I expressed my discomfort about it and told him I am STI/D and HIV/AIDS free and I've only ever slept with one guy and we are completely monogamous so I am not sure I want to get it. And surprisingly my Dr. was fully supportive (although this was just my family dr and not my Gyn... not so sure if she will push it next time I go see her.)
My mom made me take it right when it came out. Actually she found out I was preg cause she had the nurse chase me around her office with that stupid shot, so I had to tell her.
2yes, i will definitely have my (future) daughters get the vaccine. I can't believe how many young women I knew in college who had HPV, I could probably name 6 or 7 off the bat, maybe more. I got the gardasil vaccine about two years ago (or so, maybe more) before I was sexually active, right when I came out, and I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to do so.
3whoops i meant to say "right when IT came out" not "right when I came out" ha ha ...
4I think I will, but I'm very glad we have a lot of years for it to be on the market and things to be further researched before we have to make the choice.
But the fact is, even if she's a virgin on her wedding night, what if her husband isn't? Then he's likely a carrier. I got HPV the first time I had sex and ended up with laser surgery. I hope to avoid that with her, not to mention the more advanced risks of the virus.
5If I ever have a daughter I will probably have her get it. Luckily I have many years until we even try to have a daughter so I don't have to worry about it for a very long time, if ever.
6no. even the vaccine maker admits they don't know if it will work, that answer is YEARS away. we need to get over thinking vaccines "fix" things. vaccines are poison that need to be used selectively not "oh look here's one we haven't had!" like a sticker collection.
7I agree with everyone on this board. Too many people jump on the pharmaceutical bandwagon when they tell everyone a product can help a certain illness, especially with all of the attention HPV has been getting from the media about young girls. Did you know that a large % of the population has a form of HPV but only some strains can be detrimental to your health? The fact is we don't know much about this vaccine because it is relatively new and there are so many strains of HPV, does Gardasil protect you from all of the caner causing HPVs or just a few? I would rather wait until the results of more long term studies have been done.
8I most definitely will give it to her! i'm going to get it myself, over summer.
9No. HPV isn't even something to seriously worry about, whereas shoving chemicles into children over and over definitely is.
10I'm sorry but you don't think cervical cancer is serious, toxie? Tell that to the women who have died from it or lost their ability to have children. My husband has personally taken care of two women in their 20s who have ended up in hospice and died from it (and both were married and not promiscuous). I'd say that is fairly serious.
11Did I say cervical cancer? If I did that was a huge typo, because I *meant* to say HPV... which is totally different.
12HPV is the virus that causes almost every case of cervical cancer. So, no it's not totally different.
13I've already taken the vaccine, and I would so totally have my daughter vaccinated (that is, if I had one). Preventing at least a few types of cancer are a few less things to worry about.
14that was a really funny typo, linjono.
I would let my daughter get the vaccine.
15They're DIFFERENT things, so you'd do wisely not to put an unfair spin on it. Polluted air could also cause cancer, but that doesn't mean I'd make my child run around with a gas mask on. To me, the tiny chance of cervical cancer from HPV doesn't outweigh the risk of other problems caused by the constant stream of chemicles we're encouraged to dump into our kids. Heck, I wouldn't be suprised if that very vaccine contributes to some OTHER type of cancer when mixed with other medications.
16If I had daughters I would get them the vaccine. Having HPV is like having a live grenade and waiting for it to explode.
17I understand why parents would want their daughters to have the vaccine, but I also think it's dangerous to use a vaccine until it's been proven for a few more years. I feel the same way about those birth control methods where you have your period 4 times a year etc. Fortunately my daughter is a baby so I have the luxury of waiting to see what further studies will say.
18HPV is a serious issue, and although some types have no outward symptoms ALL put you at serious risk for cancer, so I dont take that lightly.
19Ummm... I think you've got that a bit wrong, Caterpillar. Only about 4 of the 130 types of HPV can cause medical problems. 90% of HPV cases are cured by the body's natural illness-fighting abilities. So... yeah. You definitely misspoke.
20I mean, have you guys been lied to? Misled? Or are you twisting the story on purpose? I seriously, seriously want to know. I know a lot of people blow HPV out of proportion, so I wouldn't be suprised if you've all been deliberately lied to. I mean, I can count on one hand the number of times I'd ever even HEARD about HPV before Gardasil came out... and I DON'T think that's a coincidence.
21Actually foxie, there are about 30 types of HPV that put you at risk for medical problems, and 15 of those types are known to cause cancer. The most common four are covered by the vaccine discussed above. There are about half a million new cases of cervical cancer worldwide each year, and about a quarter million deaths each year. It's true that not everybody who gets HPV gets cervical cancer, but everybody with cervical cancer has HPV. So I'm not sure how anybody here is blowing HPV out of proportion. Nobody here has been deliberately lied to or is "twisting the story on purpose."
22I really don't want to get into a big debate. But what you said facin8me, intrigued me and so I looked up info about cervical cancer. What I found suggests that not everyone with cervical cancer has HPV like you stated.
per the http://www.oncologychannel.com/cervicalcancer/index.shtml website:
"Evidence of HPV is found in nearly 80% of cervical carcinomas."
Also per that website also: smoking can cause cervical cancer ... not everyone who gets cervical cancer from smoking is also going to have HPV.
Per the ACS website: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Do_we_know
_what_causes_cervical_cancer_8.asp?rnav=cri
"But HPV does not completely explain what causes cervical cancer"
Yes, HPV is a big factor... but it is not the only one. And not everyone who has cervical cancer has HPV.
23ha HA yeah i recently found out my bfs ex has hpv and i went to a clinic to get tested and found out they dont test for it...
24even tho im at some serious risk of having it which is upsetting
anyway im trying to figure out how to get tested and or the vaccine its a pretty serious virus.
Is that Dr. Foxie? Probably not. To say we have been lied to implies some malicious intent. In some of your CDC regurgitation you failed to mention this part "Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and another 6.2 million people become newly infected each year. At least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives." I think those numbers are pretty scary. And as far as you not hearing about HPV, I'm not entirely sure it's stuff people like to chat about. "Pass the peas, oh I have HPV". So for you anti government types this isn't a fake condition created by big business pharmaceutical to get you to run out and get "constant streams of chemicals" pumped into you. HPV is real and chances are you come into contact daily with people who have it.
25Exactly. 50% of people have/will have had it.... so I say again, WHY o WHY did we never hear about it until Gardasil showed up to save the day? If there are 30 types that can possibly cause medical problems, then I misspoke but it doesn't really change anything, considering how many types of HPV there are and how many peoples' bodies cure it on their own. I fully expect that this vaccine will cause more problems than it takes care of, especially with the influx of autism cases being attributed to vaccinations. For the record, I'm not an anti-government type, but I am an anti-wasting-money-and-time-and-morality-inside-of-animal-laboratories-only-to-have-Gardasil-to-show-for-it type.
26Foxie, many people can fight off HPV on their own, and many people can't. Scientists are not sure what specific factors relate to whether or not you can fight off the virus at any given time in your life. Which is why prevention is important- because you can't know if your body will fight it off.
I'm not sure why you personally had not heard of HPV and its relation to cervical cancer, but its been established for some time. Before the vaccine, there wasn't a lot you could do to prevent HPV besides abstinence because condoms are not 100% at preventing HPV transmission- maybe that's why there is a lot more information about prevention now.
If you are anti-wasting money, then you should be for the vaccine because the vaccine is a lot cheaper than cervical cancer treatment. And if you are against the vaccine because it might involve animal testing, then you should be aware that there is no animal model that is suitable for testing HPV vaccines. And even if there was an animal model, it does not give you the right to minimize a disease simply because you do not like the way it is being cured. If you feel so strongly about animal testing, perhaps you should pursue a career in science so that you can help develop models that minimize the need for animal testing.
27I'm not exactly sure why you say that no one has ever heard of HPV until Gardisal. I heard about HPV 17 years ago. My Husband first heard about it 12 years ago. I know many others who had heard of it well before Gardisal. I'm guessing some of those 50% of people have heard of it before Gardisal. Just because you didn't hear of it just makes you lucky. I wonder how many people talked about Herpes before there was medication that could make their outbreaks shorter. I just don't think people talk about things if there isn't a cure for them.
I'm not here to get into the vaccines cause autism debate. There's no real numbers or proof and I wouldn't dare to speculate. It is a horrible trend and I really hope someone finds some concrete evidence of what is causing it soon.
I think unless you have walked a mile in someone's HPV shoes you don't know how scary it can be to think that some day you are going to go in for that PAP and have the phone call to tell you they found something odd.
28Once again, I said I hadn't heard about it ALOT. I realize it's existed for a long time. But now it's on the front pages of magazines, being featured on TV shows... it's crazy. I just don't see how you could seriously think that's a coincidence that Gardasil is new and so is all this emphasis on HPV. Like I said, it will cause more problems than it fixes, I would almost bet on that. It hasn't even been determined if it's carcinogenic yet!! I wouldn't be suprised if Gardasil, when mixed with all the other vaccines, prevents cervical cancers while contributing to other cancers. Parents need to know this kind of stuff, but all they ever hear is "HPV is the worst! Vaccinize your children and they won't get cervical cancer!" It's twisted and unfair. Normally I would say let people be blissful in their ignorance, but we're talking about 11 / 12 year old girls who generally don't have a say in this.
29Not to mention the fact that the military is starting to increase their pressure to get Gardasil... I've already had several doctors try to shove it down my throat, so to speak.
kikidawn, I just wanted to point out some things about what you posted:
"Evidence of HPV is found in nearly 80% of cervical carcinomas."
Actually, 80% of cervical cancers are associated with two types of HPV. The rest of the cancers are still caused by HPV.
"But HPV does not completely explain what causes cervical cancer"
This is true, but only because many people get HPV without developing cancer. This is where other risk factors, like smoking, come in.
30I was never told about HPV until after I had it and the doctor saw "pre-cancerous" changes on my cervix. Later, I came across an article which said doctors have avoided talking about HPV and cervical cancer because it was an uncomfortable topic and prompted too many questions from patients. Eventually, I had to have a procedure to remove the lesions from my cervix. It was awful, and I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone. Even though just a few women get cancer, a lot more have pre-cancerous changes that require a surgical procedure to remove them from the cervix. These are all caused by HPV. The strains in the gardasil vaccine are the most aggressive and likely to progress to pre-cancer or cancer. I think the harm of HPV is downplayed, because no one talks about pre-cancer which affects about 1.2million women (low grade changes) and 300,000 (high grade changes) each year (just in the U.S). Why don't we hear about it? I guess no one wants to announce to the world that they have had HPV and a procedure to remove pre-cancerous cells.
31At least 30 girls or young women have died following vaccination with Gardasil, in the US alone, and there are reports of hair loss, of serious reactions, including disabilities, and of facial outbreaks of genital warts, due to Gardasil.
Merck' HPV /Gardasil vaccine has NOTHING to do with disease prevention. It is, like any other vaccine, an organised criminal enterprise disguised as disease prevention.
I invite readers to check out my 'Vaccination Information Network (VINE)' on facebook for further information on the vaccination issue.
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