HPV vaccine...

I've been hearing from friends and advertisements advising all women to get they cervical cancer vaccination. Before going for it, i did some research about the vaccine (Gardasil) that can prevent cervical cancer. It prevents Human Papilomavirus (HPV) that can lead to cancer. Cited in Wikipedia “About 30-40 HPV types are typically transmitted through sexual contact” and that can infect the genital areas of men and women. Most people who become infected with HPV do not even know they have it. High risk types of HPV is not cleared by the immune system, it can linger and turn abnormal cells into cancer over time.

An article from the star stating that Gardasil offers protection against 4 strains namely types 16 & 18 that accounts for 70% of cervical cancer cases and types 6 & 11 cause 90% of genital warts cases. The common HPV types that infect anogenital tract are HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. What are HPV types 16 & 18? It is actually an internal growth on the wall of the reproductive canal of the cervix that can lead to cancer. Whereas for types 6 & 11, in normal cases it will cause genital warts and mild dysplasia of the cervix, this will appear in the pap smear test as abnormalities.

With this vaccine you get protection against the above mentioned HPV types and not the rest of the types of HPV. The FDA stated that it is safe for a 9 year old girl to be vaccinated. It is also recommended for girls and women age 9 to 26 to complete the vaccine series of 3 jabs. Are there side effects? I went to the FDA website for information and yes they have confirmed that Gardasil is safe and effective vaccine. Minor side effects are syncope (fainting), pain at the injection area site, headache, nausea and fever. 94% of total reports showed that the adverse events have not been serious and 6% of total reports showed as serious events such as seizures, paralysis, brain inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, heart attacks, blood clots, strokes and deaths in young girls are just a coincidence. There is no substantial evidence stating that the vaccine caused such events.

It is important to know the reaction symptoms like fainting, seizures, numbness & tingling, you should remain seated or lying down for 15 minutes after the vaccination (symptoms like fainting and seizures may happen). Please do not drive alone to get your vaccination as there are cases where gals fainted and got into accidents. Beware. I personally call up (+603-2698 7351) the Women’s Cancer Detection & Breast Clinic and spoke the the doctor. She told me that it's been around for 2 years and no reported side effects cases were filed.

Here’s a video by a Director of the Health Sciences Institute


Death cases reported:

Here’s the full report by the National Vaccine Information Center. The Government and doctors do not know how long the 3 jabs of Gardasil will protect against HPV infection. Even after the 3 series of vaccination of Gardasil, regular pap test screening is required and immediate treatment of Pre-cancerous cervical lesions. Taking precautionary steps like wearing condoms may lower the risk of developing HPV related disease.

I wanted to share this to create awareness about the vaccine...

Prevention is better than cure, no?

Have a great weekend!!!