My DD is 16 and her Pediatrician has added her nam e to list of other teens that this may help........

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060903/...am4yBHNlYwNmYw

Merck's Gardasil may give wider cancer protection
Sun Sep 3, 2:06 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first cervical cancer vaccine may give wider protection against the killer disease than previously thought, researchers said on Sunday.
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New data presented at a medical conference in Prague showed Merck & Co Inc's Gardasil had the potential to neutralize additional strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the disease.

HPV types 16 and 18, which are directly targeted by Gardasil, are responsible for 75 percent of all cervical cancer. But scientists found the vaccine also induces an antibody response capable of neutralizing strains 31 and 45, which together account for another 8 to 9 percent of cases.

Further clinical trials are needed to show if cross neutralization translates into the prevention of disease caused by these extra types.

Nonetheless, the advance is a plus for Merck, which is fighting competition from GlaxoSmithKline, whose rival vaccine Cervarix has already shown similar promise to fight a range of cancer-causing HPV types.

Both products are viewed by analysts as likely multibillion-dollar-a-year sellers for preventing cervical cancer, the second-biggest cancer killer in women worldwide.

Gardasil is already approved for sale in the United States and is awaiting approval in Europe, where it will be sold through a joint venture with Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Cervarix is slightly further behind in development.

The latest Gardasil research results were presented at the International Papillomavirus Conference in Prague.

Incredible hope that this is indeed as effective as it sounds. DD not crazy about needle but it beats the alternative surgery and chemo. Pediatrician explained HPV to DD and she asked if I minded signing her up for it.
Going to read up and see if it will help older 'more seasoned' women as well.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE

I'm so leary of new meds/vaccines that I would personally not take it for a decade or more to see how other people respond and what side-effects they "discover" it causes. I would love for this to actually be good and not cause any other problems to crop up, but you know how our medical field puts stuff out before they have all the info needed. Just my cynicism, though.

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I'm with you - I feel sick every time I have to vaccinate because no one can really truly tell me what it's for or what can happen. I heard that they are actually wanting to give this to younger girls - like 11 or 12 because the average age of having sex is getting younger and younger. What does this vaccine do to a developing girl??????????? What was that drug that all of the moms took in the 60's that made people have major fertility problems? DES? Something like that. Could this turn into a problem in 20 years when these girls are trying to get pregnant on purpose???