The HPV vaccine…to give or not to give? I think we need to be realistic here, the rate of STD’s in young women in frightening. (Estimated 1 in 4 has an STD.) Why wouldn’t you give your daughter the chance to prevent a potentially deadly cancer? And yes, I say chance, nothing in this world is certain. So you need to ask yourself, are the risks of the vaccine better than cancer? I would have to answer this definitely, YES!!!
I was diagnosed with HPV in my early 20’s and was shocked. I contracted the virus in college and must say that I was not promiscuous and I feel I made good decisions. Well, here I am nearing 30 and am still anxious after each visit with the doctor wondering if I have another abnormal pap smear. The reason I share this with you, is because if this vaccine were available when I was young, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. It scares me to read about parents who are uncertain of this vaccine and would rather wait….well, waiting is time and in that time your daughter can contract HPV.
Many parents think that giving their daughter this vaccine will give them the “ticket” to be sexually active. I don’t find this to be true! It is no different than condoms being available in a supermarket. Sexual activity is happening!!!! We try to protect our children and we make daily decisions on what is best for them. We teach them simple things like putting on a seatbelt and looking both ways before they cross the road. Just like the HPV vaccine, Garadasil, these things are precautionary, nothing guaranteed…but they all help us to be safer!
So, if you have a daughter, think about getting her the vaccine. Wouldn’t it be terrible if years later she looked back at you and said, “Mom, you had the chance to help me prevent cancer and you didn’t?”
