Gardasil: Cervical Cancer Vaccine

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Wow - am I glad I have TiVo because I had to rewind this one. Did I hear correct? A commercial advertising a vaccine for cervical cancer?

Yup. It's true. And being vaccinated with Gardasil could also help protect you against most cases of genital warts.

Of course there's a disclaimer that says, "Gardasil may not fully protect everyone and does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it is important to continue regular cervical cancer screenings."

And taking this vaccine isn't a cure if you've already been diagnosed with it. It's only for women ages 9-26. And you can't get the vaccine if you are pregnant. This is revolutionary and could help save the lives of so many women. I can't help thinking this is a great idea after watching last week's Grey's Anatomy.

Women's HealthGardasilCervical CancerCancer PreventionHPV

8 Comments

LaLaLaurie06 LaLaLaurie06
I still have to call my insurance company to see whether or not they will cover me getting this vaccine. My gynecologist says it's a good idea, but it also costs $500. Because of these high costs, I have read that many doctors aren't carrying it. This is very sad. Why put this on the market and have it be inaccessible to us? I really hope my insurance covers it, otherwise I just hope I never get cervical cancer...
bettywhite bettywhite
As someone who has been dealing with HPV for over a year now, i strongly urge all women to get this vaccine. I caught HPV from a guy who didn't know he had it - AND we used condoms. Now i've passed it along to my current boyfriend, I have to go to get pap smears twice a year, and my boyfriend and i have both had acid treatments to deal with the warts that have recently developed. Oh, and as a bonus i might develop cervical cancer. Why wouldn't you get this vaccine??!! Who cares what you might have to explain to your daughter - you should be talking about sex with her anyway, and you should know that she probably will have sex regardless. Protect her, pay for the shot and you'll know you've saved her years of pain, guilt and frustration. By the way, i'm 27 (beyond the recommended age) and my doctor gave me the vaccine after he removed my abnormal cells and the warts - he said it will prevent my boyfriend from re-infecting me. Discuss it with your gyno.
esk4 esk4
I can't afford it! which is sad because if this vaccine is really as great as they say it is it should be more affordable, I shouldn't have to decide between text books and a possible life saving vaccine.
lemuse20 lemuse20
I would rather take my chances NOT taking than taking it. Who knows, they might find out later on that this "vaccine" causes something else. Yes, I may be a little uneducated on this one, but I have doubts that studies know 100% about it either.
Butrfly4404 Butrfly4404
I'm almost too old!!! I hate that now I have to choose whether or not to vaccinate my daughter for this. Thankfully, I have a few years before she's 'of age' so we'll have time to give it a few years on the market. I dont' like that it's a vaccine against, basically, an STD. Like "I know you don't know about sex yet, but let's get you vaccinated anyway." I'm not against standard vaccinations, but I don't get me or anyone in my family flu shots. Just makes me wary, you know?
karebear karebear
I was not aware there were other vaccines, similar to Gardasil, that may be more effective in preventing one from contracting multiple strains of HPV and STDs. If anyone has the names or these vaccines or can refer me to a website with information, that'd be great.
katie225 katie225
i heard in a health class i took in college last year that this company purposefully left out certain strains of hpv from their vaccine because those strains are not known to cause cervical cancer. they did that so that they could market it specifically for cervical cancer, not genital warts. if i were going to get the hpv vaccine, i would want the one that covers as many strains as possible, whether they cause cancer or not! i guess it's a PR thing. preventing cancer sounds so much better than preventing and STD/STI. i would suggest to anyone who is thinking about getting the vaccine or thinking about getting it for your daughter to look around, research the vaccines, ASK YOUR DOCTOR which vaccine covers the most ground, etc. etc. just to make sure that you're getting the best one, not just the one that "prevents cancer."
karebear karebear
I think women over the age of 26 should be able to get this vaccine. Hopefully, they will soon approve it for older women as well.
julieulie julieulie
Just to clarify a few points.... cervical cancer is (obviously) caused by HPV, of which there are dozens of types. Chances are, we ALL have HPV in ourselves, but we have strains which are deemed non-infectious. Over 80% of cervical cancers are caused by two particular strains of HPV, which are the two targeted in the vaccine -- hence, not protecting against the other strains. There has been some myth going around that it is only effective prior to being sexual active, which is not true -- but if you have already developed early stage cervical cancer it will not protect you (it is a preventative vaccine, not curative). It really is a great idea to vaccinate against these HPV strains, but remember, getting the vaccine is not a replacement for yearly pap smears! (I am very familiar with the vaccine as I am a biomedical Ph.D. student at the university where the vaccine was developed, and have had several lectures/lab collaborations with the individual who actually created the vaccine.)
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