Sunday, October 12, 2008
Gardasil commercials convince me I can be my own athletic doppelganger. The actresses engage in agile activities that my clumsy limbs envy — skateboarding, jump-roping, shooting hoops — as if they received a 2-for-1 insurance deal for liquid steel along with the Human Papillomavirus Virus vaccine. But are these Olympic goddesses really protected from cervical cancer?
Since its introduction two years ago, Gardasil has been hailed by many as a miracle drug. Time commitment is negligent: A patient receives three shots over six months. Users have reported only mild side effects, such as skin irritation and pain after injection.
Not bad sacrifices for a drug claiming to prevent the second-most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Its price tag at $360 seems to be the only drawback. Not everyone, especially the uninsured, can afford such expensive nether regions.
However, the lurking danger of Gardasil is women treating it as a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
Clinical trials conducted over a five-year period did not span enough time for cervical cancer to appear. Although the tests showed that the drug may prevent vaginal lesions from HPV that can lead to cervical cancer, we cannot confidently say that Gardasil directly prevents it.
The drug works only if you haven’t been exposed to HPV before or during the vaccination process. A pap smear is necessary before receiving the shot if you are sexually active or frequently use public toilets of questionable hygiene.
Gardasil prevents against only two types of HPV. These types account for 70 percent of cervical cancers cases, but not all. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, suppression of these strains may encourage other mutations of the virus to flourish. Overestimating Gardasil’s effectiveness may give a false sense of security and deter women from testing for HPV and cervical cancer regularly.
But the real kicker is Gardasil’s longevity is still questionable. The drug has only been on the market for two years, and the FDA admits on its online Gardasil fact sheet that protection time and long-term side effects are not yet determined.
The shot is intended to last a lifetime, but the drug has only been studied for seven years. When will we know if a booster shot is needed, when a vaccinated woman contracts HPV or cervical cancer?
Maintaining sexual health is an individual choice. However, women should strive to be "one less" ill-informed drug user. Gardasil requires continuing scrutiny both from the FDA and potential buyers. The real vaccine we need is against being blind consumers.
— Oberthaler is a Wichita junior in English.
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Comments
Oberthaler: Has Gardasil really conquered HPV?
Despite all this controversy and high cost, the Department of Homeland Security now REQUIRES this vaccine for all immigrant girls and women from age 11 to 26 regardless of their HPV status.
Oberthaler: Has Gardasil really conquered HPV?
Your statement that it only protects against two types of HPV is false, it protects against two types that cause most cervical cancers, and it also protects against the strains that cause warts. But, I guess I would know that being that I was one of the study participants from the original trials at KU, I got the vaccine almost eight years ago, and I'm still cancer and HPV-free.
Oberthaler: Has Gardasil really conquered HPV?
You shouldn't knock the vaccine until you've read all the facts. The vaccine guards you against HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18. That's four types, not two. Maybe you meant that two of the types cause cervical cancer, and the other two types cause warts (which might be taken as only two types altogether). I'll give you the benefit of the doubt with that one. And the vaccine can protect you even if you've been exposed to HPV before. It will protect you against the strains that you've not been exposed to before. So that means you might only be protected against three types and not four; which is a whole lot better than not being protected at all.
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