| The Cervical Cancer Vaccine |
Mary M. Alward | Sep 2007
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All across North America girls between the ages of 11 and 12 have the opportunity to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV,) and it may soon be available for girls as young as nine. The vaccine is the first ever to be given in hopes of preventing cervical cancer, which strikes 10,000 women in the US annually. 4,000 of those women succumb to cervical cancer. In 2005, the World Health Organization reported that 500,000 cases of cervical cancer were reported.
Unfortunately, cervical cancer can strike when women are very young. Since HPV is a sexually transmitted, women can become infected as soon as they are sexually active. Some women suffer from cervical cancer before they’ve even had children. Others contact it while they’re raising a young family. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in women and if treatment is successful, the disease often causes infertility.
HPV is responsible for the majority of cervical cancer. There are a variety of strains of HPV and they are all spread through sexual contact. The new cervical cancer vaccine blocks type 16 and type 18 HPVs and stops cervical cancer before it has a chance to take root.
Health professionals and researchers state that the cervical cancer vaccine activates a girl’s immune system before she comes into contact with HPV and when the vaccine is given at a young age, it gives a higher level of protection. The vaccine must be given in three separate doses within a six month period in order to be effective. The second dose is administered two months after the original vaccination. The third is given six months after the original.
Females between 13 and 26 should have an update vaccination if they didn’t receive the vaccine or if they missed having the full series of vaccines, according to officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This will allow the results of the cervical cancer vaccine to be seen much sooner. It’s possible that a booster shot may be needed in the future, but this has yet to be determined.
The cervical cancer vaccine was tested on women ages 26 and younger who were sexually active. Some of the women had already been infected with HPV. The vaccine was found to be effective as long as the women had not been infected with types 16 or 18 HPV. The number of sexual partners had a direct bearing on HPVs - the more sexual partners, the larger the chance of being exposed to HPV.
In the group of women tested with the cervical cancer vaccine, few complained of any type of side effects and those who did report side effects described sore arms and flu-like symptoms. However, since the vaccine is new, future side effects have not been determined and whether or not there will be any serious side effects is yet to be seen.
Routine school vaccinations in most US states now include the cervical cancer vaccine. Whether or not it is mandatory is determined by each individual state.
Women should definitely continue to have annual Pap tests whether or not they’ve received the cervical cancer vaccine. A Pap test and regular pelvic examinations are a necessary preventative measure for all sexually active women, no matter what the age.
To prevent being infected with an HPV, a condom should always be used during sex. Women should also limit the number of partners they are sexually active with. The more partners a woman is sexually active with, the more chance of contacting an HPV, which in turn increases the risk of cervical cancer.
In most states, it is up to parents to decide whether or not their daughters should have the cervical cancer vaccine. The vaccine is still in the experimental stages and there is no way to determine if side effects will become apparent in the future. Some parents are concerned that the cervical cancer vaccine will cause promiscuity. Only time will tell. Talk to your daughter before signing her up to receive the cervical cancer vaccine at school and use wisdom when choosing whether or not to give permission for it to be administered.
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| Review By: |
Anonymous |
| Article Grade: |
F |
| Article Review: |
Experimenting on our youth so more diseases pop out later in life, scary people! Focus on the real killers, processed foods diets and toxin overloads (vaccines included!) ... cure obesity and raise the immune system naturally, get rid of all this mystery juice! |
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| Review By: |
Mary Alward |
| Article Grade: |
A+ |
| Article Review: |
I think you missed the point of my article. I'm cautioning people to take both the pros and cons into consideration and to talk to their daughters before they give permission for the vaccine to be administered. |
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| Review By: |
anonymous II |
| Article Grade: |
F |
| Article Review: |
I totally agree with the previous review,why should we as parents vaccinate our nine year olds against something they get, or can get from sex? Do the right thing and teach good morals at home parents! |
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| Review By: |
Anonymous |
| Article Grade: |
F |
| Article Review: |
We DON't need to be working in this direction with our young girls! We NEED to be encouraging abstinence!! Whatever happened to remaining a vrgin until marriage? That would solve ALOT of social problems including STD's, abortion, teen pregnancy etc. The schools should NOT be encouraging early sexual experiences!! They ARE children and need to have moral guidance. We NEED to inform them and encourage them to wait until they are adults to have sexual relations!!! We should mentor them with GOOD role models rather than handing out condoms & birth control and turning them loose on their own!!! We are just adding MORE problems to this confused world by NOT patterning our lifestyles after the Biblical teaching rather than the "worldly & Hollywood version." Let's give our children & grandchildren some GOOD local role models rather than the Brittany Spears & Madonna type!!! |
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| Review By: |
Anonymous |
| Article Grade: |
A+ |
| Article Review: |
First let me start off by saying, I don't agree with sex before marriage. I have seen first hand what the consequences are. Coming from a single parent home made me want more from my life than just to be someone's "babymama". I have also seen the effects of STDs,; I lost two cousins to AIDS and I have another one that's battling cervical cancer. My cousins were raised in the same environment, and we were taught to believe the old saying that charity begins at home, and if you train a child in the right way it won't stray far from it. In saying that, I want to say this...even though a child is trained in the right way, it is up to that child to continue in the right way. As parents, we have the responsibility to teach our children and prepare them for this wicked world. No one is perfect and that's why there is repentence. As a parent, I would want to protect my child as much as I can, and even though I don't believe in sex before marriage, I would probably allow my daughter to get this vaccination. I would rather my child be safe now than sorry later. |
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| Review By: |
Trina G |
| Article Grade: |
A+ |
| Article Review: |
The vaccine is actually needed before the girls have intercourse. This is for prevention of CANCER!!! This article does not say it is OK to go ahead and have sex!! The morals are suppose to be taught by parents not teachers. Immunization shots are preventative medicine. I have cancer in my family therefore I recommended to have my daughter vaccinated with this preventative medicine for CANCER!!! I did not tell my daughter that it is ok to have sex now. I told her that God wants us parents to protect our children from diseases. Plus I told her that God wants people to wait to have sex. God's law says to wait for Marriage before consenting to sex. Give me a break that people have small minds because they believe that this vaccine gives the ok to run out to have sex!! It helps women from dieing from cervical cancxer!! |
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