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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

New jab for cervical cancer

49 replies

mdrooney · 05/09/2008 21:35

has anyone else seen the tv adds for the new jabs for yr8 girls for the cervical cancer jab I have read a little about it but dont know much about it, I have two dds one in yr8 and the other in yr7 dos anyone know any more information are they going to give the jabs in school, and what do you think.? what I read about on the negative side is that it could give girls a false sense of security and the age limet for smears will be raised. has anyone else any more information please.

OP posts:
AMumInScotland · 05/09/2008 21:41

They are going to give the jabs to teenage girls all over the country - they have already started in Scotland, becasue the school term starts earlier. I think there are three jabs in total.

I think it's a good thing - teenagers don't really think about the possibility of getting ill when they are tempted to have sex, so I don't think the idea that they are protected against one disease which they might get in later life will encourage them to start having sex any earlier.

K999 · 05/09/2008 21:44

I think it can only be a positive thing. I live in Scotland and there has been a lot in the press about it. I am in total favour of it.

MaureenMLove · 05/09/2008 21:49

DD is in yr 8 this year and the 3 jab dates are already marked in her planner, so yes, they will be given at school, like the BCG was in our day.

Mamazon · 05/09/2008 21:51

As someone who has spent the last 8 years having and fighting cancer of the cervix this is indeed a good thing.

the negatives are that there is only a (relativly) small amount of long term research inot the side effets of this drug. ie they have only beenable to observe girls who have had for ( i think) about 10 years.

the biggest possible problem is that it may lead to apathy with regards to the usual screening process. this im afraid will only be cured by educating our daughters that the HPV virus is nly considered the cause of around 75% of all cervical cancers.
even with teh vaccine you could still be unlucky enough to catch HPV or to get the cancer by some other means.

Mamazon · 05/09/2008 21:53

the saddest partof the whol;e programme is that it is being given to 12 year olds because beyond this age it is thought that there is a high chance thatthe girls may have been sexually active and therefore making the vaccine nul and void.

what a sad indictment of our society

ChacunaSonGout · 05/09/2008 21:53

i will be gutted if dd year 9 does not get it

Original poster
mdrooney · 05/09/2008 22:10

I do think it can only be a good thing as long as the goverment dosent change the age that is recomended for girls to have a smear test, I havnt heard anything from the girls school yet, they go to a girls catholic school am not sure if they will have a moral stance on this. hope not....... as would really like the girls to have the jab, they have a little understanding as I have explained why I go for smears .

OP posts:
jura · 05/09/2008 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mamazon · 05/09/2008 22:15

no as far as i know it is only those in year 8.
and then each year in year 8 the girls will be given it.

Its not given to the boys.

snorkle · 05/09/2008 23:52

jura, there is supposed to be a catch up program for the older girls who miss out, but I don't think that's starting for a year or two & it means they'll be even older when they get it. This only matters if they get sexually active young - to work properly it should be given a year or two before sexual activity starts I think.

jura · 06/09/2008 12:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MarsLady · 06/09/2008 12:17

The lack of research bothers me and I don't know how I feel about it. I have a DD in Y9 (so she won't get it) and one in Y6 so she would and I don't have enough information on hand to decide.

I need to meet up with some of my favourite mums with older DDs and see what they think.

BodenGroupie · 06/09/2008 12:55

I haven't seen the ads but dd2 (12) has, now demanding "the vaccination against cancer"! I'm
also worried about the long term effects even though I had to have a cone biopsy when she was a baby cos I'd got grade 3 CIN. I need to research the research before we make a decision. In an ideal world boys would have it too but the cost is probably an issue.

flamingtoaster · 06/09/2008 13:14

There have been concerns about it's safety e.g.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567698/Cervical-cancer-drug-Gardasil-linked-to-death s.html

My DD is over the age where she would be given it - but I am not sure if she was the right age I would let her have it. Obviously no -one knows the long term effects yet - or indeed how long it offers protection for.

MaureenMLove · 06/09/2008 15:17

Here's the NHS info on it. I need to get reading quick. DD's first jab is Monday week according to her school planner!

Remotew · 06/09/2008 16:12

Thanks for that Maureen, we were wondering when DD will get get this jab and now know it will be year 12.

shewhoneverdusts · 06/09/2008 17:16

There is catch up programme planned for the older girls though. My two are in yr8 and yr11 and I am having some doubts. My main concerns are the lack of research and the choice of drug company chosen by our government. In the US the company we have chosen have been asked to supply further research info. I was so certain I was going to say yes after going to a talk given by a gynaecologist where I work, but now I'm hesitating.

Scarfmaker · 06/09/2008 18:45

Hmm - I have a daughter in Year 8 and am unsure whether to let her have the jab. I've always been one for these things and advise parents whose kids I look after to have the MMR but this one has been thrust upon us all of a sudden.

All girls 12 to 13 will have the jab (three in all) and then any 17 18 year old will be offered the jab as a catch up before they leave school.

The jab only protects against 70% of the strains of cervical cancer - so what about the other 30% Also we have one of the best screening programmes and girls may become complacent and not have smear tests thinking they are protected by the jab.

I was reading a report in the Daily Mail the other day and in America where the programme has been running since June 2006 some experts have been expressing concern.

20 (yes 20) seemingly healthy girls died within a few days of being given the vaccine. These deaths have been dismissed as coincidence but I'm worried.

Also, the report says studies into the vaccine were carried out on girls aged 15-24 years so there is no way of knowing how the drug will affect pre-pubescent girls.

This is another worry for me as my daughter hasn't started her periods yet and hasn't developed breasts yet.

Hope someone can help me in my decision.

MaureenMLove · 06/09/2008 19:12

I'm the same. DD has all the vacinations that were available when she was pre-school, but this one hasn't been tried and tested for as long as them! Our yr 8 girls are the first. I don't know what to do either and I've only got a week to decide!!! Help!!

Sawyer64 · 06/09/2008 19:24

Apparently there are 2 different brands of vaccines,one is supposedly safer than the other......

There is a catch-up programme,this year it will start with 17-18 yr olds. I would imagine like the Pneumonia vac for adults,it will eventually cover all under 18.

At present the smear test is available for 24yr olds upwards.The present research suggests that Cervical Cancer is almost non-existent before 24 yrs old,but what is a higher risk is STI's,due to more frequent changes of partner. {hmm]

The idea behind the HPV vaccine is great as HPV is responsible for 70% of STI's,and can be a "silent" disease which causes infertility.

My DD's are Preschoolers,I have got time to decide how safe it is. IMO I would postpone it if you arent happy.

littlestrawberry · 06/09/2008 19:40

I had cervical cancer in my early 30's. All girls should have the jab. Mine was caught in the early stages but I still had to have a radical hysterectomy whereby they removed my womb, tubes, cervix, tissue either side of the cervix and the top of my vagina.

Wouldn't wish anyone to get this. And bear in mind its a killer. About 3 thousand women a year die from it.

Sawyer64 · 06/09/2008 19:47

Sorry didnt mean to infer that the pneumonia vaccine eventually covered all those under 18!
Just that they started the catchup with 85yr olds and over,then 75yr olds etc. and so on....

I would definitely want my 2 DD's vaccinated,but if it hasn't been proved safe yet,and there really has been 20 deaths,that aren't for reasons that could have been prevented,such as knowing your DD reacts to vacs,or is allergic to a component etc.Then I think like all vacs it requires alot of thought and research to ensure that its as "safe" as it can be for your child.

ajandjjmum · 10/09/2008 13:56

My dd has just had the first jab - two more follow over the next six months. She is 15 and I am told that the catch up programme would reach her by the time she is 17/18, at which point she may well be sexually active, and therefore it's too late. So it's cost me!

Interestingly, the virus is transferred via hands and mouth, not just through penetrative sex.

Scarfmaker · 13/09/2008 20:37

ajandjjmum - how come your daughter has had the jab at 15 - thought it was 12?

Scarfmaker · 11/11/2008 20:24

Daughter had her first jab today in school - next one in December then 6 months after that. Has an achy arm but that's it.

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