Now that my medical insurance has kicked in at work it is time to take Jordan in for her yearly well check. We postponed it last June because she was still very sick. Anyway one of the things I want to talk to Dr. Knowles about the vaccine GARDASIL and if I should get Jordan vaccinated.
For those of you that done know GARDASIL is a vaccine for HPV which is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted. Some of these viruses are called "high-risk" types, and may cause abnormal Pap tests. It can also lead to cancer. Both men and women can be carriers of HPV.
I have talked to a few friends about what they plan to do for their daughters. I have gotten both side of not to it and to just do it. Here are the opinions that I have gotten.
I have had a couple of friends say that they will not give their daughter the vaccine because they will educate their daughter to wait until they get married to have sex. One of my friends felt that giving the vaccination was like giving your daughter permission to have premarital sex. The other side is why not protect your daughter what would it hurt. A friend felt that it would be better to be safe then sorry later in life.
Now here is my side……I have thought about this for a while and this is why I have made my decision to have Jordan get the vaccine.
My mother died from lymphoma, one of her brothers died from prostate cancer. Another brother has survived a type of bowel cancer. Then her mother died of a lymphoma and her father died of prostate cancer. Then on my dad’s side one of my grandmother’s sisters died of breast cancer. I have had pap smears that have come back with signs of pre-cancerous cells. If there is something out there that could possibly protect my daughter from a certain type of cancer why would I not get her protected.
Yes I do hope that she will be responsible about her sex life and waits, but it is inevitable my daughter will have sex some day. As much as I would like to not think about, Jordan, my baby growing up and having a life of her own. This is not a virus that only women get; men can be carries are well. Only Jordan can be responsible for her body and what she does with it. She is not responsible for the man she marries. Even if he has had sex with one person and contracted HPV then he is a carrier. He could then give it to his wife, my daughter. How could I possibly live with myself knowing that I could have possibly protected her?
I know that it is not a 100% protection. But having lost several loved ones to a type of cancer even a 1% chance is good enough for me. No serious side effects were reported during clinical trials of Gardasil, the FDA-approved HPV vaccine. There are no serious side effects to the vaccine. The most common side effect of the HPV vaccine was mild soreness at the injection site. Other side effects of the vaccine include itching, swelling, and redness at injection site, nausea, fever, and dizziness.
Ok I am off my soapbox. I just needed to get that off my chest. I have been thinking about it for a while. Thanks for listening. Please feel free to leave you comments on what you think of this vaccine. If you have another side of the story or just want to post what you think. I would love to hear it.
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2 comments:
Isn't it funny how different things affect how decisions are made.
I was totally freaked about giving Mandi her vaccinations when she was a little bean...they have so many side effects and one of my cousins had a huge adverse reaction and nearly died!
When she was 5 or 6 I debated on giving her the chickenpox vaccine. My mom listend to me and then said "Karla if there was a vaccine that could have prevented you from getting Reye's Syndrome I would've given it to you." Reye's Syndrom results from taking aspirin when you have the chickenpox. It is frequently fatal. I lucked out and only ended up in a coma for about a week.
With the Gardisel, I thought briefly and talked with Mandi about it. After seeing her baby sister go through chemo Mandi decided to go with the three shot series. I too hope she waits, but have every intention of making sure she is educated.
She makes many decisions without me every day and I'm going to teach her as much as I can so that she makes the right one. After all Mom only ever taught me to wait and look how that turned out...I love Mandi so much, but being single and having her at 18 wasn't really a life goal of mine. :)
I have thought about it, but not a lot. My mom is a cervical cancer survivor, so that makes me want to make sure my daughters are protected from HPV. I'll need to discuss it with Summer's pediatrician, Erich, my sister, and my mom. So, we haven't made any decisions as of yet.
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