My point to that was there seems to be these new vaccines coming out that are not needed or pointless, like the chicken pox one. Guardisil is not any different, imo

... if they had something that cured all strains of HPV I may be a little more open to it

Sexually transmitted HPV remains mystery
Updated Fri. Mar. 16 2007 8:13 AM ET

Associated Press

Nearly every working day, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor encounters anxious young women who come to her New York City office with an HPV diagnosis.

The human papillomavirus is the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease -- so common that researchers estimate most people will have some form of it in their lifetime. Young adults are especially at risk because they tend to be the most sexually active group.

And yet Poynor finds that most of her young patients -- even if they've heard of a new vaccine aimed at preventing the worst kinds of HPV -- know little about the virus and the harm it can do.

Many women find themselves scrambling to understand HPV after a routine Pap smear determines they have it. And that, Poynor and others say, creates angst that could be avoided with more education.

"This is a very common problem, period," Poynor, a gynecological oncologist in private practice, says of HPV. "That's the first thing I try to tell my patients, to put their minds at ease and to potentially take away some of the stigma that a sexually transmitted disease might carry."

The reasons that HPV is so little known are many. Poynor thinks it's been overshadowed by higher-profile STDs, such as HIV and herpes. Others note that, when marketing its vaccine, pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. has chosen to focus on the potential for cervical cancer rather than the virus itself, which also can cause genital warts.

And then there's the gender divide. Both men and women can have high-risk HPV and low-risk types. But, doctors say, high-risk strains pose more problems for women, potentially leading not only to cervical cancer but also to infertility.

Frequently, men are seen as the silent carriers who can unknowingly spread HPV to their sexual partners. And even when people know they have HPV, they often think condoms offer 100 percent protection, when research has shown that they don't.

That was the case for one 24-year-old woman in San Francisco, who recently learned she has one of the high-risk types of HPV. She was one of a few young women with HPV interviewed for this story, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the stigma of having an STD.

"I was scared, sad, disappointed and definitely ashamed. It seemed unfair that I should have it when I've had relatively few partners," says the young woman, who's been sexually active for eight years and had four monogamous sexual partners, including her current boyfriend of two years.

She knew little about HPV at the time. But when her doctor uttered the words "pre-cancer," in reference to the abnormal cells found in her cervix, she frantically searched the Internet to educate herself.

"It definitely made me question a lot about my past choices," says the young woman, who plans to soon attend graduate school to study culinary arts.

Certainly, doctors say, having more sexual partners increases a person's chance of contracting HPV. But, they say, HPV also can be contracted from just one partner and even one sexual encounter.

Having a partner get tested for STDs also isn't a guarantee, as one 22-year-old woman discovered.

"I always made getting tested a requirement. Then I would know I wasn't getting anything," says the recent college graduate who lives in Washington Township, Mich., near Detroit.

She has since been diagnosed with HPV and will soon undergo a procedure known as laser ablation to remove precancerous cells in her cervix. Other procedures often include a colposcopy, which is a close examination of abnormal cells in the cervix, and, if need be, a biopsy in which doctors remove a cone-shaped portion of the cervix to test it.

"I've been in to see the doctor five times in the last month -- it's just overwhelming," says the young woman, who ended up sharing her diagnosis with her boyfriend and parents.

Having more information and the support of loved ones has helped.

"When you just say STD, people are like 'Ohhh,'" she says. "But when you ask those questions and understand more about it, it's not necessarily as scary."

While some women who have HPV think it's too late for them to be vaccinated against HPV, some doctors say it would still be worth it, since it shields against the worst four types of HPV.

"Even if a young woman has one type of high-risk HPV, there's nothing to say that she cannot be infected with the other three," says Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Federal officials recently recommended that girls as young as age 9 receive the HPV vaccine. Some parents remain reluctant, though -- worried that the vaccine could be considered a license to have sex.

Dr. Gary Rose, head of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Texas, says parents should reconsider, even if they're certain their daughters will wait until marriage for sex.

"There are a couple of things you can't be sure of," he tells those parents. "One is the sexual history of the person your daughter marries." The other, he says, is the risk of abuse or rape.

Because the vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV, Poynor and Tan say regular Pap smears and early treatment remain keys to fighting the virus. And they agree that some protection from condoms is better than none.

One young woman from San Antonio, Texas, who was diagnosed with HPV two years ago, also calls educating men about their role in spreading HPV "crucial."

"I had to tell my boyfriend about it," says the 26-year-old professional, "and he still doesn't get what it is."

link

Janfriend said:

there are over a hundred strains aren't there? how many shots would you be willing to have to cover a hundred different strains???

Janfriend said:

now why do you have to be hating on the chicken pox vaccine?? it can be extremely dangerous for some kids! like with suppressed immune systems or other health problems. not to freaking mention that this generation of kids will not ever have to experience shingles! now ask your grandma or your aunty if it was fun to have that good old chicken pox virus revisit them when they were old and frail.

and mentioning a drug that was pulled off the market, not a vaccine makes me think you don't understand how a vaccine is created.

maybe in your mind we should all go back to the days where people died from polio and suffered from mumps and were violently ill from whooping cough.

No. I see nothing wrong with immunizations I was givenas a child. There has been nothing as significant as polio or mumps that truly needs a vaccine, in the past 30 years that I can think of. It's about money.

Janfriend said:

So CANCER is not as significant as polio or mumps? This is not about money, this is about saving young women from cancer and infertility. The only problem people have with this is that it deals with a sexually transmitted virus. If we were talking about being able to vaccinate against any other type of cancer- there would be no debate. Period.

we should all go back to the days where people died from polio and suffered from mumps and were violently ill from whooping cough.

Wrong. This is not about cancer, as someone else also agreed. This is about some strains of a virus that can cause cancer. I think we already established that all the strains of HPV do not always cause cancer, but that cervical cancer can be linked to certain types of a virus. It is not a gurantee that HPV directly causes cervical cancer. More people live with HPV and do not get cancer. People without HPV still get cervical cancer. This is not a cure to cervical cancer. Where do people get that insane idea is beyond me

At what age should we start getting tested for HPV? You can ornote me with the answer.

You should have your first Pap smear when you start having sex or by age 18. Continue having a Pap smear once a year until you've had at least 3 normal ones. After this, you should have a Pap smear at least every 3 years, unless your doctor thinks you need them more often.

just googled it link

Janfriend said:

Okay, I'm going to try for the last time to help you understand that almost ALL cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV- people without HPV are not likely to get cervical cancer. No one here, except you, has said the vaccine itself is a cure for cervical cancer, it is a VACCINE against the virus that causes cervical cancer. Vaccines have never cured anything- they prevent. The only reason why cervical cancer will continue is because people will not get this vaccine and then get the virus or because they have/get a strain that is not covered by this vaccine. It will still be HPV induced cancer. Please do some research and see for yourself. Some strains of HPV do not cause cancer. Some people who have HPV do not get cancer. BUT ALMOST ALMOST ALL WHO DO HAVE CERVICAL CANCER HAVE HPV. The only problem with this vaccine is that it does not-yet- cover all the strains. But I will say again, some is better than NONE.
People have a hard time wrapping their minds around the fact that cancer can be caused by a virus, but in this case, it is.

i don't think gardasil will erradicate hpv anytime soon but it has to be viewed as a huge step forward

If the vaccine works as it is supposed to, the medical benefit to women everywhere is astounding

It prevents you from getting the virus in the first place, that is the definition of a vaccine. No, it does not prevent all the strains, but when you are talking about cancer and infertility, some is better than none.

because you are vaccinated it doesn't mean you can throw caution to the wind. it is an additional barrier, another layer of protection, not magic.

if they had something that cured all strains of HPV I may be a little more open to it

i said:

i've read the whole thread over and don't see how anyone is saying anything other than the vaccine is an advancement in prevention. and yet, the only one saying that a vaccine could cure anything is you

janfriend said:

i dunno why i bothered. this is like trying to get the tobacco industry to admit that smoking is linked to lung cancer.

At what age should we start getting tested for HPV? You can ornote me with the answer.

I never said a vaccine was cure. I only said it was not a cure. You and others on here have mentioned this stops cervical cancer, which it doesn't. Some people interpret that as a cure. That is how the commercial for this shit comes across. "Take this and it will stop you from getting cervical cancer." It's bullshit. Why are they mentioning cancer in the first place when it also causes genital warts? The word "cancer" gets more attention and therefore Merck will make more money. No, it is not true that almost all cases of cervial cancer are caused by HPV. Only 2 strains of HPV are known to cause cancer. HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the types found in the majority of cervical and anogenital cancers as well as severe dysplasia of the cervix. These belong to the so-called “high-risk” group of HPVs. There are over 100 types of HPV. HPV infection is common and does not usually lead to the development of warts, cancers, or even symptoms. In fact, the majority of people infected with HPV have no symptoms or lesions at all. If a woman gets a regular yearly pap smear and there are precancerous cells found, they can be removed through conization.

Paradisekiss03 said:

If you're sexually active you should be having annual paps. I'm not sure what age you should start if you're a virgin.
[Edited 3/27/07 5:59am]

Janfriend said:

okay, this is the last time I will reply to you, no matter how annoyed I get. As already stated, why bother? I can only hope you are not able to convince any young girl or her parents not to get this vaccine and therefore risk her life or fertility. (Almost 4,000 women died from cervical cancer as recently as 2005)

Depending on the research you're looking at- it is anywhere from 70% to 90% of cervical cancers caused by HPV. That's 9 out of 10 or 7 out of 10 AT LEAST. So I don't give a shit if the pharmacutical co.'s are focusing on the cancer instead of the virus. We have never had a vaccine for any type of cancer, so why shouldn't they?? It's a big deal- period. Not to mention that the vaccine covers only 4 strains, I believe, and TWO of those are #16 & #18 which the most likely to cause cancer. The only thing you are right about is that many people have HPV with no symptoms and do not get cancer. So in your mind, that means those who do get cancer should just deal with it, and we shouldn't try to prevent new cases from happening. That's just ridiculous.

I'm so angry by your flippant statement above re: conization. Did you not read my original post?? I had annual paps- every single year since I became sexually active- and still turned up with carcinoma-in-situ. Paps catch about 90% of cervical cancer, but not always at an early enough stage to make treatment minimal. Labs are often overworked, and the early changes can be easily missed. If any more of my cervix was removed by a cone, I would have been unable to have children. It was the scariest thing I have ever gone through, not to mention painful. I have repeatedly pointed out to you in my posts that this is not just about cancer but infertility as well. It is obvious you have had no first hand experience like this, so I am now done with you.
[Edited 3/27/07 12:18pm]

paisley i wouldn't want to wish what you went through on anyone.

we shall continue to tell someone. and let them be one less.

Keep trusting the government until they kill you

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/HPV-vaccine/Slide11

Funny how someone wants to take a "soundbite" from what someone said in regards to the FDA which has nothing to do with a website about cancer. Even funnier is when they themselves quote what they want to support their argument. Merck's very own site http://www.merck.com/prod...il_ppi.pdf states Guardisil may not fully protect everyone who gets the vaccine. Guardisil helps protects 4 types because they cause approx 70% of cervical cancers not 99%.

Janfriend said:

okay I swore I would not reply to you directly anymore but I cannot help myself . You just showed how illiterate you actually are, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO READ BEFORE REPLYING TO ANYMORE POSTS, you are not even spelling the name of the vaccine correctly. And btw, the FDA is a Government agency- one and the same as the .gov site you posted. I could spend all night going back through this thread to point out all your errors and contradictions but it's a waste of my time. Here's the important part one more time folks...99% OF CERVICAL CANCERS ARE CAUSED BY HPV. 70% CAN BE PREVENTED WITH THIS VACCINE SINCE IT ONLY COVERS 4 STRAINS TWO OF WHICH CAUSE 70% OF CERVICAL CANCER.

I'm done for sure with you now. Try to bait me all you want- that is obviously the only reason you're sticking around on this thread. I know other people around here can read and figure it out for themselves one way or the other.

it's always so interesting to get to know people a little bit better through issues like this. very revealing.


i really don't know how people do it day in and day out in P&R
the conflict does my head in