People's opinion of the immunization against cervical cancer for girls

[Dave Byrd]

Gardasil IS fantastic. Thanks to those of you who've got your facts straight on it, like Weedhound and Katyowns (always reliable voices of medical reason and sanity here).

You who mistrust vaccines need to spend one day, or maybe only a few hours, with one of the diseases they prevent. You'd change your tune quickly. No one can fully appreciate the prevention till you see what happens without it, and that's a hard thing to do with diseases that have almost been abolished because of vaccines. You're having to put faith in something you essentially can't see.

Gardasil vaccine is a wonderful advance in preventing a disease, but it's important that we be clear it doesn't cure cervical cancer. It immunizes against four of the major strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) that, if women contract them through sexual contact, cause 70% of cervical cancers. So it prevents the HPV viruses that would later cause cancer by inoculating the recipient's body and causing its immune response to see those viruses as something she's already been exposed to, which prevents her from contracting them later from a sexual partner or spouse.

Any criticism that Gardasil is not to be trusted because it's man-made is ridiculous. The fact that it's man-made makes the inoculation/disease-prevention possible, and vaccination employs the very same process through which people develop natural immunities to certain viral diseases after they've contracted them.

There are no major problems with the vaccine other than some site reactions and soreness from the injections themselves, which all vaccines from the flu shot to the pneumonia vaccine have. A site reaction is a heck of a lot easier to deal with than a deadly cancer.

I believe everyone should get their daughters these vaccines and, if you're female and within the age range of up to 26 or 27, get them yourselves. I hope they can soon develop a similar vaccine that prevents HPV infection and transmission in young men. If I had a daughter, she'd have already had those immunizations. I have a son instead, and if and when the male version of the vaccine becomes available, I'll have him at the head of the line to get it.

[shadow218]

ok check this out: Vaccine Safety Group Releases GARDASIL Reaction Report
there have deffinitly been problems with that vaccine at least two thirds of girls vaccinated reported problems in there every day lives

[Chronic Chrissy]

ok check this out: Vaccine Safety Group Releases GARDASIL Reaction Report
there have deffinitly been problems with that vaccine at least two thirds of girls vaccinated reported problems in there every day lives

Do't take this lightly it only protects against 4 strains of hpv out of 94. Vaccines themselves are not dangerouse the part that is is the fillers such as lead, murcury, and formaldihide. Personally I have choosen to stop all vaccinations to my child(2years old). Often many people have allergic reations to vaccinations and actuaqlly end up contracting the virus they are being vaccinated against. My daughter caught measels from he MMR vaccination. Ultimately all vaccinations create are super bugs that wipe out vast numbers of the population instaed of a small portion.

So long as your daughter practices safe sex and uses a condom she will not contract HPV. And just because you have HPV doesn't mean you will get cervicle cancer. Cervicle cancer rates are relitively low and regular Pap smears still remain the best prevention.

Do not vaccinate your daughters! They can make their own choice when they are 18, until then they should use a condom every time anyways, it is only six more years to wait.

[katyowns]

So long as your daughter practices safe sex and uses a condom she will not contract HPV.

This statement is very incorrect. Condoms reduce your chance of contracting HPV by 70%, they do not fully protect you. HPV does not require penetration to be spread, like other STD's.

[devils dream]

i'm glad i started this thread as i really dont know much about it and i am certainly finding out more, i never thought it was a prevention of all types of cervicle cancer but didnt know the exact things it protected from, i stand by what i said about not completely trusting vaccines but then i dont completely trust anything, i just try to weigh up risk and benefit. and get as much information as possible to make an accurate and informed decision, instead of just flowing with the masses who do these things simply because someone told them to.

thanks for your responses its insightful :thumbsup:

[Dave Byrd]

ok check this out: Vaccine Safety Group Releases GARDASIL Reaction Report
there have deffinitly been problems with that vaccine at least two thirds of girls vaccinated reported problems in there every day lives

You've misread that information. Please review it closely again. That's not at all what it says. It says that two-thirds (of the reported group, which is admittedly small because these are voluntarily reported events) required additional medical care, not that they reported problems in their everyday lives. They required additional care because they had site reactions such as numbness, tingling, injection soreness, etc.; because they fainted, which happens frequently to people getting injections; and possibly because a small amount have had neurological responses, many apparently because they got more than one vaccination at the same time, which makes it impossible to conclude that it was the Gardasil that caused the problem.

Do't take this lightly it only protects against 4 strains of hpv out of 94. Vaccines themselves are not dangerouse the part that is is the fillers such as lead, murcury, and formaldihide. Personally I have choosen to stop all vaccinations to my child(2years old). Often many people have allergic reations to vaccinations and actuaqlly end up contracting the virus they are being vaccinated against. My daughter caught measels from he MMR vaccination. Ultimately all vaccinations create are super bugs that wipe out vast numbers of the population instaed of a small portion.

So long as your daughter practices safe sex and uses a condom she will not contract HPV. And just because you have HPV doesn't mean you will get cervicle cancer. Cervicle cancer rates are relitively low and regular Pap smears still remain the best prevention.

Do not vaccinate your daughters! They can make their own choice when they are 18, until then they should use a condom every time anyways, it is only six more years to wait.

This post is full of dangerous misinformation. Some facts it's important to correct:

• The vaccine only protects against four HPV strains, but those are the strains responsible for nearly 3/4 of cervical cancers. So it protects against the majority of cervical cancers.
• Vaccines don't create superbugs. They don't cause superbugs. Superbugs are something else entirely, like methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which doesn't have anything to do with vaccines. Superbugs are likely caused by antibiotic overuse and the fact that people don't finish all their antibiotics when they're prescribed.
• Vaccines do not wipe out vast numbers of any population. They've saved vast numbers of lives. Literally millions.
• Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women. Not as common as colon cancer, lung cancer (or heart disease), but it still affects tens of thousands of women's lives a year. Easily enough to merit the development and use of a vaccine.
• Pap smears don't prevent HPV or cancer. They detect it. Big difference.
• True, HPV doesn't necessarily guarantee cervical cancer. Cervical cancer doesn't show up usually till middle age. But it makes it a heck of a lot more likely than if you didn't contract HPV disease all, and there are other HPV diseases like the warts themselves that cause other problems and so should be prevented against.
• Safe sex and a condom don't protect against HPV. Not by a long shot. As Katyowns said, the spread of HPV doesn't depend on penetration.
• Mainstream practitioners feel strongly that informed parents should vaccinate their daughters. The problem with letting girls wait till they're 18 and make their own choice about the HPV vaccination is that, for many of them, that's too late. HPV is rampant among the middle- and high-school aged kids. Statistically, girls are much more likely to have already been exposed to HPV by the time they're 18 than if they were vaccinated before they begin dating, petting, etc., which is why the 12 - 13 window is key.

People should talk to their doctors about vaccinations if they have questions, especially if there's a chance you could be the victims of anti-vaccine fear-mongering misinformation.

[killerweed420]

Already been 15 deaths reported and almost 8000 lawsuits filed already. That would be enough for me to take a good look at this before I had this stuff injected in my daughter. No thanks.
Gardasil Safety: Questions and Answers

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Hi Dave. Seeing as you're the only doctor on the boards (and best of wishes to your wife in getting there too), I was just wondering what you think of Dr. Joseph Mercola (Natural Health Information Articles and Health Newsletter by Dr. Joseph Mercola). Dr. Mercola is an Osteopathic physician and public activist with a lot of controversial opinions. A lot of things he supports and opposses are really good, well-informed arguments that need to be made (ie. taking issue with corn syrup in all our food, aspertame, nutritional/diet issues, FDA regulations, emotional health etc). But then, as per his "controversial" title, I find myself questioning a lot of his claims too. Though he's the doctor, not me, of course.


Anywhoo, Mercola is very vocal about his opinion that vaccinations are overdone, sometimes dangerous, and often unnecessary. He points to the roughly 2% of children with mitochrondrial disorders that are at high risk for autism and other disorders (not from this vaccine in particular), and generally seems not-too-big on the whole mandatory vaccination issue. So I was wondering what you, as a quallified medical professional, thought about this guy and his opinions. Do you believe they have some merit, are unfounded, or perhaps a balance of both?


Oh I was also just curious, do you specialize in any particular medical field, or stick to the general practice? Just wondering. Thanks man. :jointsmile:

[Dave Byrd]

I'm in cardiology, Gandalf. Hence the heart in my avatar. To be in cardiology, docs first specialize in internal medicine, which is in-depth adult medical (as opposed to surgical) general practice that deals with non-cancer, non-surgical illnesses. You then have four years of cardiovascular medicine residency, but I also double-boarded in general surgery and took two extra years to squeeze in that additional residency training time because I wanted to do interventional cardiology, which involves more surgical procedures, and operate some, too.

Trying to get my wife to follow in the heart footsteps but she tells me it's boring because it deals with clogged pipes and crossed wires and is the domain of plumbers and electricians. She seems to be set on pediatrics or emergency medicine or both.

I think Dr. Mercola is an interesting and opinionated guy, like so many doctors. Osteopaths are very good about looking at the whole body system, which we allopaths often need to do a better job of. My impression is that lots of his opinions are rooted in truth. Most of us know, for instance, that high fructose corn syrup is a diabolically evil substance that is metabolically and glycemically harmful. There seems to be evidence that aspartame affects plenty of people negatively. Mercola preaches that Omega-3s and exercise and whole, fresh foods, grains, and fish are heart healthy and thinks people ought to limit red meat. Much of what he touts as great inside secrets is simply nutritional and medical common sense and not really earth-shattering news. I haven't read enough about his stance on vaccines to comment, but I'm sure he must have some credible facts upon which to base his opinions and I'll see if I can read about that in more detail. My wife has taught me to try and stay open to opinions like Mercola's and those of other doctors like Dr. Andrew Weil because she says I'm old-school about only trusting what other traditional MD-type doctors say and because, she says, integrated allopathic, osteopathic and naturopathic medicine is important to be informed about. She's a whole lot more of a medical hippie than I am, though. Plus it's been 25 years since I went through residency and there was a whole lot more discrimination back then about osteopaths. There's still a lot of discrimination against naturopathy/homeopathy in mainstream MD medicine, but I know there are lots of folks who swear by it and so won't try to dissuade them.

Did that answer your question?

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

That more than answer's my questions; much thanks Dave! They sure make you take a lot of extra school to specialize in something, especially after all the years it takes to become a regular doc. I've been bouncing back and forth about eventually going into med school myself; just keep having doubts about my ability to physically withstand the school and the work. If I did, though, I think Rheumatology or Oncology would be a really interesting practice to go into. Help people with illness and pain and whatnot.


Thanks for the thorough answer.