Editor's Note: This article deals with a mature subject matter. If you are under the age of 13, I encourage you to have a parent/guardian read this prior to you reading it. Also I encourage everyone to please discuss with your parents/guardians after reading.
On the forum there is a massive thread about this new vaccine. And there seem to be differing opinions on it and a lot of misunderstood information so I just want to take a moment to talk to the young ladies of Whyville about why things like this vaccine are important. When I was 13, we didn't have this option. I didn't even know what HPV was when I was 13 because they classified genital warts as it's own disease, and cervical cancer was only for old people. This past summer I was told that there is a chance I have cervical cancer from HPV and I go back this October for more intensive screening. They suggested that I get the Gardasil shots even though there is a chance I already have a strand of the virus. I haven't gone yet because like many of you, I am scared of something so new. The rumors of people dying and stuff scare me. But the more I did my research the more I have decided I should. So let's talk about this a second.
Lets start with what exactly is HPV. HPV is the short form for the Human Papillomavirus. A papillomavrius is a virus that affects the skin and mucous membranes of animals, and HPV affects humans. HPV can lead to cancer of all the nether regions and reproductive organs in women, and it can cause cancer in men as well. There are over 130 known strands of HPV. Some cause warts but not cancer, some cancer but not warts, and others have no symptoms at all. Many people have HPV and don't even know it.
There are around 40 strands that are transmitted sexually and cause things like genital warts. Others cause cervical cancer. Did you know most cases of cervical cancer are results of an HPV infection? Most HPV infections in young ladies are not serious and are temporary. Our bodies fight them off regularly.
Other strands of HPV cause things like planter's warts and skin warts. HPV strand 16 is known to be responsible for head and neck cancer. Gardasil fights strands 16, 18, 6 and 11.
The Gardasil vaccine only fights four strands of HPV, yes. But it fights the ones most known to cause cancer. It used to be believed that women entering menopause were the most high-risk patients for getting cancer "down there" but with changes in environment, diet, air quality and many other factors they are more and more frequent with young people.
They say 70% of people will contract HPV at some point in their lives. Multiple sexual partners, smoking, drug use, and unprotected intercourse lead to contracting it. There is no test for males to find out if they have HPV, they won't know until either warts or cancer develops. However, they have decided that it will work on boys and men too, so they can also get the shots. According to the CBC, 400 people in Canada die each year from HPV, and roughly 1300 are diagnosed with it.
You cannot get HPV from toilet seats, water fountains or any of the regular rumors. It comes from skin on skin contact. Which doesn't always mean intercourse. You can get it without knowing. Without even having sexual relations. Your parents could of passed it down to you, and it lies latent until your late teens or even well into your thirties and then shows up on a test. It is true that having multiple relations of that nature makes your risk higher, but even not being promiscuous doesn't mean you won't get it. People with four or less partners in their lifetime still have been known to contract it.
Getting these shots does not break any sort of purity promise or make you any less of a moral person. I think it's a responsible decision to make, and even if you never ever do anything with the same, or opposite sex, you were prepared. You never know what could happen. This is a great chance to prepare for an unfortunate event.
It is between you, your parents, and your doctor if you get the shots or not. Even if you are not sexually active nor plan on being for a long time these shots will help to protect you and your loved on come future years. Regular pap tests are also a really good idea. I would talk to your mother about these things and your doctor because it's better to get an early start and be preventative than to have to reverse infections later. So research together what these things are and what they mean to you, and consider for the future.
In the end, it is your decision. However, make it an informed one from facts, not gossip.
-BP
Author's Note: sources from a pamphlet the doctor handed me and what he said, along with . . .
www.gardasil.ca
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cancer/gardasil.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/health/30vaccine.html?ex=1309320000&en=73611cb06d9b311d&ei=5090
http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/default.htm
http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_myths.cfm
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/hpv/index.htm
