Gardasil - The HPV cervical cancer vaccine

[TheKiwi]

What does everyone think about this new vaccine that's come out for girls ages approx. 9 to 25 years old? Here's more information about it incase you don't know anything about it:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is a vaccine that targets certain sexually transmitted strains of human papillomavirus that are associated with the development of cervical cancer and genital warts.

I got the first of the three vaccines for it today. I'm glad I did it - I would hate to know that down the road, I got cervical cancer and I could have done something about it! This is the first vaccine for a type of cancer, so I think it's really exciting and promising.

Ladies, are you getting it?

 

[TekkaMakki]

I've gotten 2 out of the 3 shots! I say everyone who can should get this... plus genital warts are the most common STD in the US today.

 

[TheKiwi]

I think everyone who can get it should too! I'm very afraid of needles, and for a second I thought "I don't want to do this". But then I thought, "What's more scary - Cancer or this shot?", and I knew that I had to get it!

 

[educo]

I'm getting it as soon as I get money. I don't think insurance covers it yet, right?

 

[gosh]

I don't know about it....I want to get it but it's so new that who knows what possible side effects it could have later on. I don't want get the shot and then have it turn out just like Vioxx did--after all, it is the same company. They have every reason to cover up possible problems with the vaccine just like they did with medications n the past in order to make money. Plus, cervical cancer isn't the huge killer they're making it out to be.

That said, I really don't want genital warts, so I'll probably end up getting it soon.

 

[masquerade]

im getting it as soon as i see my doctor. i think everyone should get it. just think, one day we could eradicate hpv in women.

true, the lack of knowledge about side effects is not very comforting, but it seems to be worth the risk

 

[Trista]

If I am able to, I will get it. I say able because the STD can run in families, and you can get it even if you've never had any kind of sexual contact. That being said, if you are able, get it. It's estimated that 1 in 4 women have a form of HPV and that 1 in 2 women will have it in their lifetime. I read an editorial about the vaccine where a substitute school nurse in my town said she would not be giving her daughters the vaccine, which prompted outrage from many readers-some going so far as to say that she should not practice health anywhere near their kids. I've read the arguments, that it erodes parental choice and will encourage early sexual activity. I can understand the ones about the parental choice, but I think that a good-hearted parent will choose to help prevent cancer and a disease that causes it. And the other argument-encouraging early sexual activity-I find that it is not true. I like to use the analogy of the college fund-you don't start a college fund when the kid is in college-you start it beforehand. So it makes more sense to get the vaccine before it is needed, and the 6th grade requirement that many states are throwing around is a very good one because I know in my state, I had to get some booster shots at that time. I could go on and on about this topic (to say I am passionate about it is putting it lightly)!

The point is though: this is scientific progress if nothing else. Now that we have a vaccine against this form of cancer, maybe cures are more within reach now.

 

[kasippu]

GET IT!!! I swear, i was diagonosed with hpv infection CIN III, this means cells in my cervice had changed into pre-cancerous cells, when I was 25. I only had 2 'real' boyfriends and I only found out because I went for my annual PAP test, it gave me no symptoms at all. the gyn had to remove a little of my cevice and that is done under general anaesthetic.
During both pregnancies, my cervice was too weak so I was placed on bedrest some even as an in-patient, which was difficult (esp the second time) and scary. Please please condiser this vaccine. You do not have to sleep around to have HPV.!!!!

 

[SiennaInLondon]

I am sorry but this thread is insane. Am I the only one who trusts pharmaceutical companies as much as the British law enforcement service trust Snoop Dog? I had no idea so many people were brainwashed by corporate capitalism... ah screw that. I had plenty idea. But I still hold out happy hopes sometimes.

 

[TheKiwi]

^ Why don't you believe it?

 

[city girl]

i was meant to get it through my high school the other day but i was away. alot of girls have been getting sick from it - one girl was paralysed. but doctors are saying it's because of a fear of needles more than the actual vaccine

 

[songbirdsel]

yeah there have been a few reactions to it here in Australia as well. Im not sure how well connected the government and pharmaceutical companies are but it would be a pretty damn big law suit if the vaccine didnt work or wasnt necessary. That being said we dont have to pay for them here in Australia, im going in this week!

 

[mcflyandgemmafan]

I've gotten my first shot already and am meant to get my second one in a few weeks. I'm right in the age range so I think now is the best time to get it and I think it's a very good idea to get if you fill all of the requirements/can afford it.

 

[snowqueen]

Im right in thinking this is the one you need to be a virgin for it to work ?? because thats why ive never bothered to get it .. theres one which only virgins can get is this it ??

 

[miaou]

I don't know about it....I want to get it but it's so new that who knows what possible side effects it could have later on. I don't want get the shot and then have it turn out just like Vioxx did--after all, it is the same company. They have every reason to cover up possible problems with the vaccine just like they did with medications n the past in order to make money.

^ I have the same concerns about Gardasil. I'm 25 (the oldest age in the age range that they recommend the Gardasil vaccine for women), and I hesitate to take this vaccine because it's just so new. It's meant for younger pre-sexually active girls in order to inoculate them from HPV viruses that may cause cervical cancer. It's not a requirement that a girl must be a virgin before taking the vaccine. In effect, taking the vaccine would be a bit too late for me in this aspect . Fortunately, all my paps have come back normal.

 

[Hipkitten]

Everyone please review tFS guidelines regarding Medical Issues and Advice.

tFS members are not qualified to give medical advice. Only your physician can determine if Gardasil is right for you.

 

[TheKiwi]

Im right in thinking this is the one you need to be a virgin for it to work ?? because thats why ive never bothered to get it .. theres one which only virgins can get is this it ??

If you read the information about it, they say it's BEST if you get it before you become sexually active, but since it prevents different types of viruses, you can get it even if you have one of those viruses and it'll guard you against the rest. Consult the website - it talks about that.

I asked my doctor about that, since I'm sexually active and I originally thought it was just for virgins, but my doctor said no. You should consult your doctor about it.

 

[NicoleRenee]

I think it's a really good idea. I don't know why you wouldn't want to do this.

I just got mine

 

[mcflyandgemmafan]

Just got my second shot today.

 

[cutxpaste]

i've gotten mine... i think you'd be crazy not to get the shots considering how much of a risk cervical cancer is to women.
i read something in glamour about the vaccine and this one woman wasnt letting her daughter get it. what she said was "i know my daughter will wait to have sex until marriage and because of her purity of heart, she won't become infected. it worked for me"... oh come on, give me a break.