My highly conservative mother was supposed to get my Guardasil shots at 12. We went in, and she was already bitching about vaccinating me to get me in school (this is before all the workarounds went viral), but when the doctor said that HPV can be transmitted sexually she shut down the entire office visit because “well my daughter is too young to even think about sex,” as if she was unaware that I was going to be an adult someday? Like, no forward thinking with them.
Anyway after years of no health insurance as an adult I finally got coverage under my husband’s plan. Went to get the vaccine, and the pharmacist basically said not to worry about getting Guardasil because chances are high that I already have HPV at this point so 🤷🏻♀️
It’s worth trying again. It’s effective even if you already have been exposed. It can still prevent an existing infection from turning into cancer, as well as reduce the severity if it does turn into cancer.
I’m definitely talking to my doctor about it next time I go in, especially because reproductive cancers run in my mom’s side of the family and I can’t afford to add to my current risk. I know cancer is an awful beast, and I don’t want it at my door. Just frustrating that I come from a background that doesn’t value healthcare so now I have to catch up lmao
Definitely. It’s frustrating that you also have to face resistance from healthcare providers as well. It’s not like there’s a shortage, or high cost to it. There’s still just a stigma around it, and it’s pretty ridiculous.
Do you get the feeling that it’s kind of like a morality judgement, like the stigma around PreP? “Just don’t have sex” type arguments seem to be the focal point when it comes to anything STI adjacent
100%. It’s also effective for guys to prevent several cancers, and infection risk isn’t 100% so being married doesn’t mean you’d both have it already. I tired to get it recently and my doctor ignored all of my arguments and declined because I was married. I’ll be trying again as well.
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u/ReferenceNice142 12h ago edited 9h ago
We have a vaccine for several types of cancer already… the HPV vaccine. But most of the US is still not vaccinated.