It’s been said that “prevention is the best medicine.” Unfortunately for cervical cancer, politics has gotten in the way of prevention.
I was thrilled earlier this semester when I found out about Gardasil; a vaccine that protects against four types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Types 16 and 18 of HPV can cause up to 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer. I consider Gardasil a medical breakthrough so significant for women that it’s comparable to Viagra’s significance for men.
The American Cancer Society has estimated that this year alone 11,150 cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed. This year 3,760 women will die from cervical cancer. Countless more will go through the pain of invasive surgery, chemo and the possibility of losing their ability to have children.
Gardasil works by preventing changes to the cell structures in the cervix. HPV types 16 and 18 can change the structure of cells in the cervix, which leads to abnormal cell growth. Abnormal cells can lead to pre-cancerous growth and then cancer. Gardasil only prevents these types of HPV from developing; it will not stop abnormal growth.
Gardasil is FDA approved. It is now covered by most insurance plans, and in some states is covered by government programs that pay for vaccines for those under the age of 18.
The best age for girls to receive the vaccine is around age 12, because these girls most likely have not become sexually active yet; the vaccine works best before a girl has had exposure to HPV. Considering that HPV (all 30 types) is currently the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, the sooner these girls get the vaccine, the better.
On top of causing 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer, two more types of HPV can also cause up to 90 percent of all cases of genital warts.
Gross, right? I mean, warts are pretty disgusting in the first place, but I don’t know any girl who wants to have them on her undercarriage. I don’t know any men who would like to see them there, either.
I believe one thing blocking this vaccination from entering our schools are our society’s very ideas about cancer itself. There seems to be very little public knowledge about what causes cancer, and what cancer actually does. Americans think of cancer as a terrifying monster that claims countless lives and cannot be stopped.
The biggest hurdle for Gardasil so far has been parents and the politicians who represent them. Texas Governor Rick Perry’s brief fight for the vaccine was interesting, considering Texas’ abstinence-only sex-education policy.
On Feb. 2, Perry issued an executive order that girls in Texas attending school ages 11 and up receive the vaccine. Gardasil was added to the list of required vaccines. Texas became the first state to do so. The battle began.
The loophole in the executive order was that parents could refuse the vaccination for their child if they cited religious or philosophical reasons. Unfortunately, this wasn’t good enough for parent’s rights groups.
One of the most ridiculous arguments I have heard against a mandatory vaccination is that this vaccine somehow “encourages premarital sex” and that it detracts from parent’s rights. Last I checked exposing your child to cancer wasn’t a constitutional right; as far as I’m concerned, not giving your child this vaccine should be considered neglect.
The pressure appeared to be too much for Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical company that produces Gardasil. Merck announced in late February that they were suspending their lobbying efforts that would require sixth grade girls to receive the vaccine. Merck bowed out of the fight, and left Rick Perry wondering where his support went.
On March 14 the Texas House of Representatives voted 118-23 to overturn Perry’s order. It is believed that the Texas Senate will vote similarly, and that Gardasil will be struck from the list of vaccines required for girls to enter middle school.
The saddest irony is that the parents who fight against vaccinations such as Gardasil or sex education in schools are often the kind of parents who will not talk to their children about sex or STDs.
These parents seem to hope that pretending sex doesn’t exist will somehow rub off onto their children, or that their daughters will never be exposed to the subject.
I would like to remind parents like this that having sex is ultimately their daughter’s choice; it is not a choice they can make for their daughters, as much as they would like to.
Any parent who believes that their daughter will not have sex in her lifetime is delusional. Any parent who willingly exposes their daughter to cervical cancer is downright crazy.
The best way to keep your son or daughter from having sex is to talk to them about the physical risks and emotional consequences of having sex at a young age. Teach them what you believe is right and wrong – and then let them make their own decisions about their lives.

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