To the parents of all pre-teens

[GroaningGameGirly]

According to my good friend Doctor Diana, we all need to get our daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer. Apparently the vaccine takes a couple of years to become active, and therefore the girls should be vaccinated at around the age of 12 ... gulp. Can't be done on the NHS as yet, although there is talk that it will be available in about 3 years' time, but either way it needs to be done a good couple of years before they start having sex. Gulp.

but we have to wait for 3 years becufre we can take this posts advice?

what are you suggesting? we all go private?

You can currently get it privately though.

at a cost of?

So, can girls over 12 have this aswell?

TBH I don't know, the net price of the vaccine is around £80 and it is a course of 3 . So upwards of £240 I guess.

The vaccine is licensed for use in girls/women age 9 - 25 but it obv far more eefective if given before any sexual activity starts.

and i would go about this how?

see my GP?

Your GP could only advise you really atm you need to access it via private clinics in much the same way as people get single MMR jabs.A lot of the clinics that do the single MMR are also starting to do Gardasil.

I think I'll contact my gp about this. I might ask if it makes any difference to the time scale, if the mother has had pre-cancerous cells too.

yes but - now you have to advise me specifically.

do i take half a day off work taking much important appointment slot of elderly woman who has thrombosis - just to ask GP if i can get referred?

or is there some clinic to phone?

what to i look for in the phone book?

GP can't refer you as such only give you advice on cervical cnacer, HPV and the vaccine. If you google gardasil vaccine you will get clinic websites and you contact them directly if thats what you want to do.

Custy - I don't know what the answer is. I found the conversation I had with my friend rather alarming on several levels:

that girls aged 12 and above should be vaccinated now,

that won't actually be available on the NHS for another 3 years,

the cost (she thought about £500!),

the fact that the intention is that cervical screening is then phased out because it then won't be necessary (although from the small amount of info I've seen, it doesn't cover every type of cervical cancer) and

the fact that my little baby might be having sex in a couple of years!

I guess it's just something we should at least be aware of, regardless of the choice we ultimately make??

Oh...

So if I have a 9 yo DD and does she need the vaccination now?

i have asked the practice nurse to ring me

not holding breath - but was nice to stump the receptionist

No, 9 too young, apparently! I don't know, I really don't ... I just thought I'd share my conversation 'cos I was so

Always nice to stump a doctors receptionist, Custy!

Well although I am sighing at it all now I suppose that in the bigger picture it is a good thing

I was going to suggest it would give you time to save up, but actually, in theory, your 9-year old will be covered by the NHS programme in 3 years time. Di said it was just our 2 older ones who would need it before then. Having said that, she's my friend, not my GP, so none of us have to listen to her, but I just thought I'd share!

Thankyou GG, I appreciate your post. If its something that will save our little girls from something nasty, then its worth talking about, even if its not available on the NHS yet. Sadly my dd is 11, so I've got to start saving!!!

just an update - the nurse rang me back today and gave me this information
OUr PCT ( primary care trust) has not decided on whether funds sould be released to fund this on the NHS in our area as yet and they will have a decision by the end of august.

IT takes ONE YEAR for full protection

IT costs £350 ( to the NHS)

she was very very nice - the nicest person i have spoken to for a long time

she said that the govt want to hold it off and do all the girls at once - at one time

MY dd is 14. i think that they will vaccinate younger girls

will find out more in august and try and keep you updated

And another little update here ... DD1 had her first Gardasil jab on Monday. Don't know the cost as yet as they haven't sent the bill ... but the private GP did say that the NHS will be rolling it out for all girls within the next year. I think she was a little puzzled as to why we were paying for it when it would eventually be available on the NHS, but according to my NHS GP friend, they will be starting with certain age groups and it might be a while before my almost-13 year old is seen. Bearing in mind it takes (I think!) 2 years to become effective, it seemed worth getting her done now.
I am also looking to buy a chastity belt to prevent my baby ever having sex!

My personal view is that this is a ridiculous vaccination.

Do some number crunching with the statistics from Cancer Research UK. The odds of someone under 70 getting cervical cancer are incredibly low. The numbers involved are tiny and the death rate is falling on its own (without any vaccine). That's probably partly to do with screening and maybe also to do with different lifestyle factors.

If my maths is right, using the information supplied by Cancer Research, the number of deaths in the under 35 age group is 0.16 per 100,000.

Just to put the statistics in perspective, deaths on the roads in the UK are 5.6 per 100,000 (stats from 2004).

The death rate from cervical cancer of just over 1,000 people per year in the UK is heavily skewed by the (already very small numbers) of deaths in the over 70 age group (take a look at the graph.) Why give a jab to a child for an extremely uncommon disease that predominantly strikes the over 70s (like most cancers and many other diseases)?

Furthermore, cervical cancer is strongly associated with lifestyle factors, so it is possible to reduce the (already very small risk) by taking simple preventative measures, which will also protect against a host of other nasty sexually transmitted diseases. Prevention is the best policy so education about sexual health is important.

I don't know what risks are associated with the vaccine, but by definition there must be some.

For my money, this vaccine makes no sense. My daughers will not be having it.

Cancer Research UK : UK Cervical Cancer mortality statistics