I would talk to my pediatrician. There are folks on both sides of the issue of Gardasil and the whole notion of vaccinations, so you need to know if the problem is Gardasil or shots in general. I spoke with our pediatrician about Gardasil for our daughter who is now 22. She was almost 21 when we had this discussion. Because of how the vaccine was distributed and the coding on medical bills for insurance purposes, she couldn't receive the shot at that time. Since then, she has aged out of the office and her new physician, a family care doc with a heavy women's practice, has recommended it. I do a considerable amount work with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I had a friend who just passed away this fall after a 7 yr battle with cervical cancer. My Mom is a breast cancer survivor and my Dad passed away to lung cancer. Watching, helping them live with cancers, if there was anything that I could have done to prevent them from getting their diseases, I would have. The final choice was my daughter's at 22, and she got the vaccination. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure when it comes to this devastating disease. Do what you think is best after talking with your pediatrician and make a call to your ob-gyn. The vaccination won't prevent all cervical cancers, but it will protect her from those caused by the HPV virus. As she gets older, you need to have the discussion around safe sex, not just the pregnancy prevention side of things, but protecting herself from the possiblities of disease transference (STD's, AIDS,warts, etc). And as someone who is involved with middle and high school kids, the definition of what sex is needs to be discussed. Many kids don't believe that oral sex is sex. And there is an increased rate of STD's in the throats of young girls. Why? because young girls believe that they maintain their 'virgin' status if they only have oral sex and "it's not really like sex, you know." And yes, this starts in middle school, so start talking now and ease your way into this conversation, especially if you're considering Gardasil. This topic isn't a one time conversation, it's something that you can find a way of talking about in reference to a multitude of things, sex is a part of our daily lives, nothing to be ashamed or afraid of, but to be responsible about. And when your son gets older, you'll have similar conversations with him. Take good care and I hope you get the information you need to make the appropriate decision for your daughter and you. There is no right or wrong in this discussion, only what's best for your daughter.
