HPV, also known as the human papillomavirus vaccine is a program that helps preventing human infection and/or cancer in young females. HPV is a virus that can cause consequences in the tissue growth, cervical, penile, and anal as well as many parts of the body for both men and women.Here is an illustration of cervical cancer. (http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/wwwhuman/MCycle/images/cervicalcancer.jpg).
There are more than 100 different types of HPV, but only four most common types are protected to prevent causing cervical cancer. In order to decrease the chance of obtaining HPV one should use a condom or a diaphragm at all times while having sex. If an individual has several sexual partners, he/she is more susceptible towards HPV. Even though there is still a possibility for one to get an infection while using protection, it still reduces the risk of getting HPV or passing it on to your partner. Canada has approved this vaccine for females aged 9-26. The vaccine is medically not suggested for expecting mothers. Young girls who have received the HPV vaccine are not conscious as to the reasons of why they are getting it.
For example,
[““Do you know what this is for?” she asks casually.
“For breast cancer?” the girl in the chair guesses.
“For cervical cancer,” Ms. Hall corrects, not for the last time that morning”].
This calls for more awareness to be implemented by family doctors and schools. According to studies, one woman dies of cervical cancer everyday and four others are diagnosed with it. Likewise, Canada has one of the highest rates of cancer of the vulva, also linked to HPV. The following video shows how a mother of two daughters thinks it is commendable that medicine has developed a vaccine to prevent cancer for women who have not came across sexual encounters and could benefit from it, (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4z2GTcEFoSY&mode=related&search=).
It is better to be safe than sorry. Learning from the research and keeping the statistics in mind, it is better to administer this drug and help irradiate the risks of HPV. In my opinion, the vaccine would not only help counter the disease but all the hype surrounding it will help bring about more awareness amongst the youth regarding STDs. The question is...would you want your daughter receiving this vaccine?
2 comments:
Should today's youth be the guinea pigs for a product not truly tested before being marketed so heavily?
Before a drug (this includes vaccines) can be put on the market in the US, it goes through years of trials. As a nurse, I have chosen to delay and separate my 5 year old son's vaccines, however, if I had a daughter I would not hesitate to get her this vaccine as quickly as possible. These vaccines contain no live virus and, unlike the flu vaccine and many childhood vaccines, it does not contain mercury.
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