HPV Vaccine?

i just got back from the US- and there are adverts on telly for the HPV vaccine.  This vaccine protects against the virus that can cause genital warts & cervical cancer.  I've heard up to 80% cases of Cervical cancer are caused by HPV, hence are preventable now with this vaccine.

can i get the vaccine in the UK???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV_vaccine

gosh i love wikipedia

if you can pay for it, you can probably find it, but i wouldn't count on getting it on the NHS - hell, you can't even get regular pap tests here and their infant/childhood vaccine schedule is a cryin' shame.

do you have to PAY for your pap here in the UK?  if i want it more often than every three years, I guess i need to pay for it (if there's no medical need). 

i still have US health insurance, so i wonder if they cover it.

do you have to PAY for your pap here in the UK?  if i want it more often than every three years, I guess i need to pay for it (if there's no medical need). 

i still have US health insurance, so i wonder if they cover it.

if you want it more than every three years, then i expect you'll need to go private and pay.

if you want HPV vaccine, you'll probably not only have to pay for it but also travel to the US to get it.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=25490.0

thanks for those links.  i did a search through the healthcare forum but didn't see anything... should have thought it'd be under news...

thanks for those links.  i did a search through the healthcare forum but didn't see anything... should have thought it'd be under news...

 

i was going to post something in regards to this earlier today.  i now have 3 friends in the US that have HPV and was wondering if pap smears in the UK test for it, or if it has to be requested specifically.

those of you that have been in the UK for a number of years, is HPV common knowledge for most girls/women?  is there any education or literature available at the Dr.'s (gynos) office?  

i suppose my reasoning in asking is that it seems to be spreading like wildfire in the US mainly because so many woman have had it and didn't know it...much like how HIV was when it first came about.  i'm just wondering if there is an awareness in the UK, or if it's even an issue here.  

anyone?

er...just had to google it, so I guess it is not an issue (and I am usually fairly clued up on STD's and the like).

Vicky

er...just had to google it, so I guess it is not an issue (and I am usually fairly clued up on STD's and the like).

Vicky

very interesting.  now i'm wondering if it's more of an issue in the UK (as in the possibility that more women have it) because most woman may not be aware of it. 

Most sexually active people have at least one strain of HPV - over 60% and some stats are even higher.

It only becomes in issue in that it is behind 95% of all cases of cervical cancer.

And no, they're not as clued up about it here.

Cervical cancer tends to be slow-growing. 

This was on the gate today...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/29/national/a134032D99.DTL&type=health

If most sexually active people have it, why is it not part of a standard STD screening programme?


Vicky

there's also some evidence that HPV in males causes chest & brain cancers (as well as genital warts, etc). 

i'm going to see my doctor this afternoon- i'll make a point of asking her about this.