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HPV Team
When my stepson was a mechanical engineering student at Chico State University, he joined the Human Powered Vehicle project, an on-going engineering project to develop high-tech racing bikes for competition. While attending a party, proudly wearing his "HPV Team" t-shirt, he was approached by a young woman who said that she was pleased to see that there is a campus support group for people with this disease. Obviously, she was not interested in dating him.
On WebMD, there is an HPV support group - a different type of HPV. It is estimated that 20 million people in the U.S. have HPV.
Some types of HPV simply cause non-cancerous flat warts or plantar warts. Like most warts, most will go away without treatment in about 2 years if you can wait that long. Most people elect to take medications and other treatments to help warts disappear more quickly. HPV remains in the body with or without treatment for visible warts, so warts may come back.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) also causes genital warts; spread sexually, of course. Some of the 100 types of HPV cause cancerous changes in the cervix. In women, high-risk types of HPV (such as types 16, 18, 31, and 45) cause changes in the cells of the cervix that can be seen as abnormal changes on a Pap test. Abnormal cervical cell changes may resolve on their own without treatment. However, some untreated cervical cell changes can progress to serious abnormalities and may lead to cervical cancer.
About 3,700 U.S. women will die of cervical cancer in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society. Worldwide, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths for women, about 233,000 deaths each year.
Gardasil, a new vaccine developed by Merck and approved in June, targets four virulent strains of HPV known to cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Gardasil has the distinction of the first vaccine designed to prevent a type of cancer.
So far, the vaccine appears to be 100% effective in preventing HPV caused by the strains HPV-16 and HPV-18 in people have not been previously exposed to the virus. At this point, it is known to be protective for at least four years, but it may take another two decades of research to determine if this vaccine offers lifelong immunity. Gardasil is approved by the FDA for girls and women aged 9-26, and eventually, may be approved for women up to age 45.
So, why aren't boys/men getting the vaccine, since they are the ones spreading it around? There is continuing research in this area, and it is likely this vaccine will also approved in males, but right now the focus is on the ones that may get cervical cancer -- prepubertal girls and sexually-involved young women.
A few weeks ago, we received our first shipment of Gardasil. Girls will need to receive a series of three injections over a six month period. In our office, the cost of each injection is about $160, which may or may not be covered by the patient's insurance company. Many parents are asking for it; others are waiting to see if their insurance will cover it (most likely).
Offering a vaccine to prevent a sexually-transmitted disease to a nine or ten year old can be a hard-sale for medical providers. Parents do not even want to think that their little girl holding a doll is going to be sexually active some day. I typically begin to address sexual issues around the onset of puberty, but now I will need to address this vaccine availability at the 9-year well-child examination.
Vaccines have done more to improve the health and longevity of humans on this planet more than any other public health venture, with the possible exception of clean water. Gardasil is a good one. The vaccine is safe, but unfortunately, a bit expensive. But then again, so is everything else. Should you join the HPV team and have your little girls vaccinated? Based on my own research, I would have to say yes, as long as we don't have to wear HPV Team t-shirts.
Related Topics: WebMD Video: Cervical Cancer Vaccine: What Women Need to Know, Cervical Cancer Vaccine Q&A
Technorati Tags: gardasil, HPV, cervical cancer
On WebMD, there is an HPV support group - a different type of HPV. It is estimated that 20 million people in the U.S. have HPV.
Some types of HPV simply cause non-cancerous flat warts or plantar warts. Like most warts, most will go away without treatment in about 2 years if you can wait that long. Most people elect to take medications and other treatments to help warts disappear more quickly. HPV remains in the body with or without treatment for visible warts, so warts may come back.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) also causes genital warts; spread sexually, of course. Some of the 100 types of HPV cause cancerous changes in the cervix. In women, high-risk types of HPV (such as types 16, 18, 31, and 45) cause changes in the cells of the cervix that can be seen as abnormal changes on a Pap test. Abnormal cervical cell changes may resolve on their own without treatment. However, some untreated cervical cell changes can progress to serious abnormalities and may lead to cervical cancer.
About 3,700 U.S. women will die of cervical cancer in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society. Worldwide, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths for women, about 233,000 deaths each year.
Gardasil, a new vaccine developed by Merck and approved in June, targets four virulent strains of HPV known to cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Gardasil has the distinction of the first vaccine designed to prevent a type of cancer.
So far, the vaccine appears to be 100% effective in preventing HPV caused by the strains HPV-16 and HPV-18 in people have not been previously exposed to the virus. At this point, it is known to be protective for at least four years, but it may take another two decades of research to determine if this vaccine offers lifelong immunity. Gardasil is approved by the FDA for girls and women aged 9-26, and eventually, may be approved for women up to age 45.
So, why aren't boys/men getting the vaccine, since they are the ones spreading it around? There is continuing research in this area, and it is likely this vaccine will also approved in males, but right now the focus is on the ones that may get cervical cancer -- prepubertal girls and sexually-involved young women.
A few weeks ago, we received our first shipment of Gardasil. Girls will need to receive a series of three injections over a six month period. In our office, the cost of each injection is about $160, which may or may not be covered by the patient's insurance company. Many parents are asking for it; others are waiting to see if their insurance will cover it (most likely).
Offering a vaccine to prevent a sexually-transmitted disease to a nine or ten year old can be a hard-sale for medical providers. Parents do not even want to think that their little girl holding a doll is going to be sexually active some day. I typically begin to address sexual issues around the onset of puberty, but now I will need to address this vaccine availability at the 9-year well-child examination.
Vaccines have done more to improve the health and longevity of humans on this planet more than any other public health venture, with the possible exception of clean water. Gardasil is a good one. The vaccine is safe, but unfortunately, a bit expensive. But then again, so is everything else. Should you join the HPV team and have your little girls vaccinated? Based on my own research, I would have to say yes, as long as we don't have to wear HPV Team t-shirts.
Related Topics: WebMD Video: Cervical Cancer Vaccine: What Women Need to Know, Cervical Cancer Vaccine Q&A
Technorati Tags: gardasil, HPV, cervical cancer
29 Comments:
Is it true that the FDA has approved the HPV vaccine only for females and not for males? If so, does this lack of FDA approval mean that males are legally prohibited from getting the vaccine? If so, this sounds to me like a constitutional violation of equal protection under the law.
hmmmm..i could agree.
Just because the FDA hasn't approved a product for use by males does not mean that there is discrimation. Perhaps there isn't the evidence to support that it is beneficial or will not cause harm to men. The above paragraphs also mention that the vaccine only approved for girls of a certain age. Has there been an age discrimination? I don't think so.
how about a cure!!!
I do think it will be a hard sell to get the vaccine widely accepted for kids due to the fact that parents dont like to think of their kids as ever being sexually active when they are still kids.
Why is there so little research on those who have ACTIVE HPV..? It's possibly the most widespread virus in the world. It's the largest cause of VULVAR cancer not OHLY cervical. In addition there is age discrimination..as well as sexual discrimination in HPV clinical trials. The few active hpv trials there are are all pointed toward young girls.
YES, where are the males and older women in clinical trials? This is complete discrimination! In addition, i don't understand why drug companies don't look harder for an ACTIVE HPV cure..it'd make them TONS of money!
Why can't older women who are sexually active recieve the vaccine?
seriously.. your complaining about discrimination of sexes and ages? because im sooo sure that the creators of Gardasil sat around and said "hey.. let's only make this safe for a certain sex and age.. that's a great idea" NO. the research they have done SO FAR (just read the damn article) says its safe for FEMALES ages 9-26. GOOD. this means its clinically safe for them. i wouldn't be complaining about something that PREVENTS A CANCER just because it doesn't quite fit every age group. BESIDES-- if you were so worried about getting HPV you wouldn't be sexually active in the first place. im so sorry for your loss that you have to wait for more research and tests to be done before vaccines for this cancer come out for men and older women. boo fricken hoo.
bravo to the creators and everyone involved in such an amazing development.
gosh some ppl are so dumb! Have you read the artical at all? Its for females, to prevent CERVICAL CANCER. now you as a male have NO RISK of getting cervical cancer. Go ahead, I dare you! Go to the clinic and ask for the shots..see what they say to you : ) And just because they have no cure yet does not mean they are working on trying to help active cases. DO your part, give dontaions if you feel so strongly about this. You sit there and complain and tell them to fix your problems when you cant even read the whole artical or even understand what they are saying so you jump to your own conclusions. We all want to be exactly the same but in reality we are all totally genetically different. Some medications will only work on black ppl while they will do nothing for white ppl. It has nothing to do with discrimination....its just your age, sex, race and geneticts makes a BIG difference medically. Before you start ranting maybe you should read first becuase you just make your self sound like a big dumb person!
I know that the kids are our future, but just because a women is nothing longer a young women doesn't mean that she don't have a right be to be treated from HPV. There need to create a cure ASAP! for women age 30-50.
Remember all the arthritis drugs, and the depression drugs, and the migraine drugs which were "clinicly proven safe," just to be pulled from the market a few years later because they weren't safe? This being such a new drug, and the drug companies being in such a hurry to get new drugs on the market- to the detriment of saftely, there is NO way I am giving this to my young daughter. Perhaps, in a few years, if girls aren't dying, or developing some adverse reaction to it. Giving a 9 year old child a drug to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, with no evidence in the real world of it's saftey is foolish of parents.
EVERY woman deserves a cure. I am 20 years old and have HPV 16 and these comments make it sound as if I deserve neither a cure nor a vaccine. I think we need to remember that this is a virus that effects everyone and regardless of what course you choose I think you should fight for every person exposed.
Not everyone with flat warts from HPV or whatever received it from STD's. How about those of us men and women with reduce immune systems? 31 years olf 168 pounds, diagnosed with diabities, 37 years old, 170 pounds, physically very active, heart attack, 4x Byapss. Now 48 years old and these things showed up all over my back, arms, chest, and legs about 18 months ago and my dermatologist is burning off 100+ every 45 days. My two dermatologist in two different stats both say the virus is dormant in everyone and that weakened immune systems allow HPV Flat Warts, Seborrheic Keratosis, Acanthosis Nigricans, and Metabolic Syndrome.
No STD's involved here, I just want a shot to make them go away. Any useful knowledge?
I have been told that in Europe there is a vaccine that stops the virus.
how true do people believe that the virus goes away on its own....i sure hope it does....i watched a video on this site and the doctor said that the body can fight off the disease like its fighting off a cold....so would taking vitamin c help in killing HPV, since vitamin c helps stregthen the immune system????
I'm trying to find out where they inject the shot into you? Everything says "injection site". I'm assuming it's in the arm, but I just wanted to know for sure???
all of this is a bunch of bull, i'm getting pissed because one doctor on this site says that hpv goes away and now i read this and now this doctor say that hpv stays in your body. some of these doctor don't know what they're talking about, that's why it's always good to get a second opinion
be smart get tested. wrap it up.save your self
i have hpv and its to late for me to get the shot and i can die from cancer.please if you reading this get tested,get the shot be one less!
hpv will never go away you will always have it. i know because i have it
The Vaccine can be given to men, it will prevent them from getting genital warts and from carrying the HPV virus, since they are the ones that give it to us anyway. No, it wont protect them from cervical cancer,DUH! But it will protect us from getting it from them! Everyone should be vaccinated. Certain stands of HPV do go away on thier own, get tested to find out which strand of the virus u have. Take care of yourself!
I have a 18 month old foster child. Her grandfather is pushing me very hard to get this shot. I can not find anything about what I need, so if any one can answer for me that will be great.
Question 1: Should 18 moonth old toddlers get the shot?
Question 2: And don't you have to sexually active in order to get the shot?
Out of the last 10 meetings 9 he has asked about this shot.
im married for 8 years and recently noticed warts on my husband-they said hpv warts why dont i have anything and could he have had it for over 8 years without me getting infected? i had 2 chidren always checked myself, does this mean he had cheated within 8 years? is it a possibility?he only started getting warts about a tear ago...please help
I would be concerned about why the Grandfather of an 18 month old girl is so concerned with her exposure to an STD. Has there been molestation going on? No, she should not be vaccinated, they don't do it for girls under the age of nine.
Wow. First of all, while some of the posts here are genuine and constructive, the level of maturity of some of the posters (particularly kayleighrae and the following one) are appalling.
There are some subjects of this debate that are truly relevant - like whether FDA approval is really 'safe' when so recent and, with that in mind, whether it is wise to give the vaccine to a child as young as nine. Clinical trials are famously inept in their ability to predict all reactions because they are, as a rule, limited to a very small sample population (in comparison to the whole population that is exposed after release). The reason that so many drugs are pulled after being labeled safe is that the trials did not provide the full spectrum of possibilities that the universal population exhibits. Some reactions are unforeseen. This is because sample populations are hard to come by, and even more so, difficult to engineer to present all possibilities.
On a second note, I'm sure that treatments are being researched for the non-cancer-related strains of HPV, but let's remember the distinction here: life-threatening versus inconvenient. HPV is a terribly uncomfortable, socially limiting and embarrassing condition for a grown adult and treatments beyond freezing or burning (ones that address the abnormal skin cells around growths, for instance) would be optimal. Treatment for males would be optimal. However, let us not forget that this vaccine was created with a mind to protecting against strains that cause the number one cause of death in America: cancer. So, while treatment for non-life-threatening strains of HPV would be great, it is only natural that the first priority of researchers would be to combat cancer-causing strains. This also speaks to why the vaccine is for females and not males: males are not shown to contract cancer from any strain of HPV.
Another point that must be made is that men do not 'give it to us' - as if their bodies somehow manufacture this virus as part of some effort to destroy women at the cellular level. Consenting adults engage in sexual activity, which means that both the man AND the woman agree to the act. The fact that women potentially suffer greater consequences does not make men any more responsible for the transmission of the virus. In fact, I would argue that it is a reason for women to be more responsible in protecting themselves.
Another aspect of the problem lies in how HPV manifests itself in different people. For some, HPV never shows itself physically. These people are called carriers, and they can be both male and female. This means that a person may not even know they have HPV when they engage in sexual activity.
So, in conclusion, the issues at hand are as complex as they are serious. This is a forum for education, support, and information, not name-calling. Let's try to remain open-minded so we can deal with the problems at hand.
And also, if anonymous from 4:18 on 3/17/07 is reading this, I would like to know exactly what medications work only on black "ppl" and not on white "ppl." Arguments claiming inherent racial differences based on genetics are only too familiar to students of history and are incredibly dangerous. For someone who lectures other people about being "dumb" and thinking before they react, you might want to take some of your own advice. Read: Watch what you say.
I was diagnosed with HPV about 4 years ago. My doctor had me come in every 6 months for a pap. It would come back normal but the HPV was still detected. A year and a half ago my pap came back normal and no detection of HPV, 6 months later the same! My doctor told me when I was diagnosed that your body can fight off the disease, but everyone is different. She told me that I can go back to just a pap once a year. So don't give up, it can go away....
Actually, it's my understanding that men can contract at least one type of HPV related cancer, called SCCA - squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. Could the currently available vaccine prevent this?
Ok calm down. Everybody's doing all they can about everything. Everybody needs to be safe and do their part. Whenever, where ever, how old, be safe, wear condoms. Men and women 30+, they are working on you too. But like said above, the vaccine is for cervical cancer. It is not necessarily safe for you, just like lot's of other things aren't over the age of 35. There's lots of risks involved, especially if you're smoking. How many of your friends have HPV? How many people do you know? Because I'm 20 and could name way more than half of the people I know having to deal with 1 crazy HPV related thing or another. It's a problem... so many people in this genereation have it.
well i have a question that i hope can be answered soon.im 16 and recently found out that i have hpv.ive looked it up all over the internet and all the other websites said that in most cases the virus will cure itself usually within about 2 years.i dont have warts anywhere,i dont itch,i dont burn,i dont have any extra discharge i was also told by the other websites that i will most likely not have any symtpoms even though mine is high risk.is any of this true?
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