Cervical cancer vaccine

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
Cervical cancer vaccine
17
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 4:48pm

Are any of you ladies thinking of getting your daughters the vaccine? It has just be approved here. I am looking into finding more information about it before I talk to DD about it.

I have to admit, I am finding the suggested "age to be vaccinated" rather strange. Well, not really but more the assumption that if the girl is over 13, she is sexually active. I know more than a few girls who are not at 18.

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Avatar for jupiterfit
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-12-2003
Sun, 09-03-2006 - 9:25am
I called our clinic and requested this vaccine for my DD's ages 12 and 17. Apparently the desk staff was not informed about this and I must be the only one in town requesting it because the receptionist knew literally nothing about it. I left word for the doctor and her nurse called me back and recommended the girls get it. It is not available here yet but we are on a list and they will call when it is. I have done quite a bit of reading on HPV because my oldest DD contracted it from her first serious BF (who turned out to be a load of trouble and headache for all of us). A recent article said that EVEN IF A WOMAN HAS CONTRACTED HPV they should get the vaccine because there are 30 different types of HPV... four of which cause cancer. Chances are she can still be protected against some of or all of the cancer-causing strains of the virus. THank goodness my DD has gotten away from that no-moral BF, but she had to learn the hard way. Unfortunately that is how she tends to learn. She has matured quite a bit though and actually takes my advice to heart lately. I guess she figured out that I ALWAYS have her well-being in mind and perhaps her "friends" often don't. As for my DD age 12... she has to get a couple of shots before she turns 13; I will just say this is one vaccine that is given at the same time as the other booster shots. I probably won't go into much detail yet about sexual activity... she is still very much a little girl in that way. She doesn't know her sister went through the HPV diagnosis and I don't know if I will tell her... not now anyway. I will have some talks on safe sex when the opportunity arises but right now it isn't necessary.
Deb
Debbie
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-13-1999
Sun, 09-03-2006 - 11:14am
There is already a shortage of the vaccine in my area! We were lucky to be able to get the 1st dose for my 15 year old when she went in for her checkup but my 17 year old, who went in 1 month later, has to wait. I think the recommended age is chosen in order to ensure that most young women will be vaccinated prior to becoming sexually active. Since there's such a wide range of behavior, targeting younger girls seems sensible. Neither of my 2 is sexually active but I would certainly have requested the vaccine when they were younger if it had been available then. Why not get it out of the way and know that the protection is in place?
Avatar for elc11
Community Leader
Registered: 06-16-1998
Sun, 09-03-2006 - 2:34pm

Here is the link to the CDC website with info about the vaccine. Notice that the vaccine is given in a series of 3 shots over a 6 month period so ideally the girl should complete the entire series before she becomes sexually active.

http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm#hpvvac2

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-18-2005
Sun, 09-03-2006 - 5:56pm

I asked about this at my DD's ped, and they said they're only ordering enough for people who specifically request it AND we have to pay for it upfront ($450) because it's not clear if insurance will cover it. I passed for right now because she's not sexual yet, but it bugs me that the ped office was not more active in promoting this. Also, they said that since it's not required and the Amer Acad of Ped hasn't come out on this yet, the insurance thing may be far off in the future.

Anyone else have questions about insurance coverage and/or cost?

Sue

Avatar for sabrtooth
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-03-1999
Sun, 09-03-2006 - 9:37pm

Hep B is NOT "generally a sexually transmitted disease"!!!!!!! I am a health care worker--dental hygienist--and Hep B is transmitted thru ANY BODILY FLUID that contains blood. Blood, SALIVA, semen, and vaginal fluids (including menstrual blood), whether fresh or dried, are highly contagious (HBV can be easily spread) during the incubation period and for several weeks after the onset of symptoms. Altho blood contains the highest quantities of the hepatitis B virus, other body fluids that contain the virus can remain contagious for at least a week and possibly much longer, even if they are dried. IT is also resistant to many topical disinfectants, including alcohol. Hep B is WAY more contagious, & resistant to disinfection, than the AIDS virus! AIDS dies in the air. So blood on the sissors at the hairdresser, blood on the toenail clippers at the pedicurist, blood in the saliva from bleeding gums on the teaspoon that you share with the kid in the cafeteria, is CONTAGIOUS. THAT is the reason the vaccine is being given to everyone now, and not just healthcare workers.

PPS: Scientists estimate that AT LEAST 97% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV(the rest is random radiation mutation). HPV is also spread thru contact with virus in the birth canal, and because the virus can be spread even if it is dormant, and because the virus can remain viable for AT LEAST 10 years after infection, and because the infection is silent in men AS WELL as many women, EVERY FEMALE who has ever had a class 2 pap has the virus. Where she got it from is moot. So, if YOU MOM, had a class 2 pap at any point in your life before you had children, chances are you infected your children as they passed thru the birth canal--male AND female. Since the cervical cancer vaccine is only effective BEFORE the virus activates, the rational thing is to give it to every female before they enter puberty. This is NOT a discussion about whether or not your child is sexually active. This is a discussion about whether or not your child will die, or pass this plague on to the next generation. I HAD a niece, who died at 13, from cervical cancer.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-28-2006
Mon, 09-04-2006 - 2:23am
ITA with the pp who said that the outcry probably has a lot to do with the fact that the cervical cancer vaccine is for females. It seems that any time a new form of protection against unwanted pregnancy or STDs is offered, the general public's first thought is that girls will be running wild, having sex with every boy they come in contact with. I think it only makes sense to vaccinate against this possibly deadly disease, and as early as possible! I know a lot of women who are certain their daughters are "too young" or "too immature" to be sexually active, and their daughters are, in fact, having sex.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-29-2005
Tue, 09-05-2006 - 12:18pm

"Hep B is NOT "generally a sexually transmitted disease"!!!!!!! I am a health care worker--dental hygienist--and Hep B is transmitted thru ANY BODILY FLUID that contains blood. Blood, SALIVA, semen, and vaginal fluids (including menstrual blood), whether fresh or dried, are highly contagious (HBV can be easily spread) during the incubation period and for several weeks after the onset of symptoms."


It is MOSTLY transmitted by sexual contact; not by blood transfusions etc like the heyday of HIV. I am surprised how many people think Hep B is the same as food borne hepatitis (Hep A)

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