Gardasil

Cancer of the cervix is a grim danger that all women have to face. This is a disease that claims 3,700 lives every year in the United States and was, until now, something that couldn't be avoided. Now there is Gardasil. This new vaccine protects against a large percentage of cervical cancers and is, without a doubt, something to celebrate for its benefit to women worldwide. However, despite it being approved by the FDA and health bodies in several major countries, Gardasil has hit the headlines for other reasons.

The truth behind Gardasil, marketed in many areas as a cervical cancer vaccine, is that it's actually a lot more than that. Gardasil works as a vaccine for HPV, or Human Papilloma Virus, a very common sexually transmitted disease that is one leading cause of cervical cancer. After a person has received three injections of the vaccine over six months, they are vaccinated against the four most dangerous strains of HPV, including the two which cause the most cervical cancers. Both men and women can receive the vaccine, but its status as an STD vaccine has caused it to be used only on women. This fact- and its marketer's eagerness to approve it for distribution in schools- is keeping Gardasil controversial, and leading many people to oppose it.