Opinion: It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. If you’re under 45, you should get an HPV vaccine, just like I did.
Earlier this month, the federal Food and Drug Administration quietly announced something monumental: It approved Gardasil 9, more commonly known as the HPV vaccine, for men and women between the ages of 27 and 45.
Previously, the vaccine was only available for patients up to age 26.
I’m a gynecologic oncologist, and I’m choosing to get the HPV vaccine now.
Here’s why: In my work as an oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear, I spend every day helping women who have been diagnosed with gynecologic cancers. One of the most devastating parts of my job is knowing that for so many of them, a simple vaccine could have prevented their cancer from forming.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that receiving the vaccine prior to becoming infected with the HPV types it covers has the potential to prevent more than 90 percent of HPV-related cancers – or 31,200 cases each year – from ever developing.
HPV vaccine can save your life
Simply put, this vaccine can and does save lives – and it’s my job to help save lives. My passion lies in preventing a multitude of HPV-related cancers such as vaginal, cervical, vulva and head and neck – many of which I treat on a daily basis.
The vast majority of Americans have embraced vaccinations – including routine flu shots – as effective tools to maintaining personal and public health. Yet, when it comes to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, many children and young adults are going without. And to date, there has been very little education to adults in the new expanded age range about why they should get the Gardasil 9 vaccine.
Simply put, the consequences can be serious, or even life-threatening.
This is leading top oncologists from across the country, myself included, to redouble efforts in spreading the word about the vaccine’s life-saving impacts.
If you’re under 45, get it now
The HPV vaccine is an effective, safe and affordable cancer-prevention tool that is proven to save lives and significantly reduce the risks of an array of cancers. HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease that may or may not cause symptoms.
However, some strains of the virus can cause cancer in females and males. It’s important for everyone within the age guidelines – both boys and girls, and men and women up to age 45 – to get vaccinated.
Gardasil 9 – which helps prevent HPV-related cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers – can be given today to children as young as 9. And even though children in particular may not currently be at risk for HPV, their risk increases as they age and potentially become sexually active. Exposure can happen through any type of genital contact with someone who has HPV.
There is no cure for HPV, so prevention truly is the key. That’s why I’m choosing – as a woman and as a cancer treatment professional – to vaccinate myself, and to encourage both parents of children and young adults and adults up to age 45 to do so as well.
Dr. Natalie Godbee is a gynecologic oncologist at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear.