<p>Any parents have any thoughts? We are still in discussion at home.</p>
<p>My 18-year-old has not been vaccinated, but he needs to get a physical before taking off for college. I will ask the question of the doctor.</p>
<p>I just consented to my 17-year-old son being vaccinated. He balked because he hates needles, but I said tough.</p>
<p>We did it.</p>
<p>We will do it at the next physical.</p>
<p>I was not keen on it at first but recently went to a lecture on STDs. :eek: He’ll start the series on his next doctor visit.</p>
<p>My son is 20 years old and 700 miles away at college, then going on a summer field program, so I am unable to “make” him do it, although I really want him to. During spring break his father and I sat him down and strongly encouraged him to go to the health center and get the vaccine and told him why. I hope he’ll follow our advice. It’s hard when you can’t make those decisions for them anymore.</p>
<p>This virus is the most commonly passed venereal disease, and now easily stopped with the vaccine. Seems a no-brainer to me!</p>
<p>DH (cancer researcher) was persuaded by the doctors that he collaborates with that Guardasil is absolutely critical to help prevent all sorts of cancers in both men and women. He was telling our doctor to give it to our boys before it was even on our insurance plan.</p>
<p>No, I have not even mentioned this to the boys and I probably won’t. It seems like an unnecessary vaccine for males unless they have a certain lifestyle. The likelihood of them developing anal cancer is slim to none and I don’t want to give them any excuse not to use condoms. I am not aware of any other health related things that the 3-shot series vaccine does for males other than to help prevent them from getting genital warts and anal cancer and to decrease the chance of getting the warts from a female partner in the event they don’t use a condom (which I think they should 100% of the time if single). I’m also not convinced that it’s a good accountable use of $300 x 3 in insurance costs plus whatever the physician charges. I did not have the boys get the Hep B series when they were babies/kids although I did have them vaccinated before they went to college. There was miniscule chance that the kids would get Hep B as children…maybe infinitesimal is a better word.</p>
<p>There was a pretty good discussion about this a few months ago. Anyone remember the title? Some good info about hpv and head and neck cancer, I think. </p>
<p>Here it is.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1257288-vaccinating-males-hpv.html?highlight=gardasil[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1257288-vaccinating-males-hpv.html?highlight=gardasil</a></p>
<p>My son got the first one, and I didn’t really think about it until he sat with me, recovering. It was pretty painful, and I think it was pretty cool that he agreed to it, but I am pretty sure he didn’t complete the series.</p>
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<p>It seems the makers of Gardasil can rest assured of how well-oiled the promotional machine works. The vaccine works very well but people should not overstate its VERY limited effects and understate the inherent limitations of its scope. good to remember the vaccines only work on TWO or FOUR subtypes of HPV and are ineffective for patients that have contracted the virus. This is why the companies have pushed for vaccination of preteens in the poorer countries. Claims of ancillary benefits of Gardasil remain unproven.</p>
<p>While easily contracted, only a very small percentage of HPV resists the natural defenses of the body, and only a very small percentage of the patients progress to cervical or other cancers.</p>
<p>My son got the shots through a health center close to his college. We encouraged him to do it and would have paid out of pocket.</p>
<p>A close friend (male) was diagnosed in his mid-40’s with throat cancer–the kind that was directly related to HPV. He had no other risk factors. The treatment nearly killed him. He’s nearly 5 years clean now and, fingers crossed, he’ll get to see his young child go off to college someday. There’s a huge bubble in incidences of this cancer because the sexual revolution hit its stride just about 25 years ago. It’s a ticking time bomb for many people, particularly since throat and mouth cancers are very hard to detect and are fast moving (those lymph nodes are too close for comfort). Once you’ve been exposed to HPV (often through oral sex), there’s no vaccination that will help. Sad to say that our kids often experiment younger than we think they should (let’s face it–we’re the last to know). And for those of us who came of age in the 70’s and 80’s, don’t ignore the sore throat or canker sore that doesn’t go away!</p>
<p>Two friends of mine, both doctors, have had their boys vaccinated, as well as their daughters.</p>
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<p>You mean the sexually active lifestyle?</p>
<p>^^ exactly, I was going to get into those points, but hoped someone else would. I felt alittle bit that way about Hep B so did not vaccinate them when they were little but all three boys were working in restaurant kitchens from age 16 on and I did have concern about blood born illnesses from knife cuts, etc. so I went ahead and scheduled them all for Hep B which was a pain because by then two had flown the coop to colleges…but a tiny little baby and Hep B not so much not to mention tiny little babies get so many vaccinations for herd protection mine didn’t really need lifestyle protection at that tender age on top of all the other vaccinations.</p>
<p>Absolutely important for any young person - male or female. I had my DS get it from the health center when he went to school (they already offered it there.) As to what activities put males at risk - all sexual activity does. Penile cancers and deadly throat cancers are both on the rise. And any partner that they have sex with is also at risk.</p>
<p>My two DS (18 and 15) have completed the series. I understand that cancer in the throat has skyrocketed due to changes in “intimate encounters” over the past few decades and this may offer protection. My kids’ pediatrician has cared for them both since they were newborns and I trust her recommendation. While it meant 3 trips to the vaccination clinic, there were no other issues, so I am pleased that I obtained this protection for my sons.</p>
<p>My wife is also a cancer researcher, and our son and daughter have both been vaccinated. We fully understand that the protection has limits, but it’s still worth it.</p>
<p>Absolutely. Protect our sons, protect our future daughters-in-law. For those of us who are confident that our sons will be virgins who marry virgins, I guess it’s not necessary, but for the rest of us, yeah.</p>