Guys Need A Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

You probably heard of the current breakthrough in preventative cancer, a vaccine for women designed to head off cervical cancer. You’ve seen and read and the commercials and have probably dropped in on a discussion or two, but have not thoroughly paid attention. Besides, it doesn’t concern you, right? Wrong. This is something you may definitely need as much as your woman does.

Hello, I’ve Got A Dong. And You’re Saying I Need A Vaccine For Cervical Cancer Prevention?

Yes, you do. HPV or the human papillomavirus that is responsible for cervical cancer makes no gender preferences. In men, HPV is the main cause of genital warts and responsible for many anal and penile cancers.

The vaccine called Gardasil, Gardisil or Silgard is a relatively safe and effective prevention against HPV or the human papillomavirus. As a precautionary measure against the virus, the vaccine is effective mostly in those who are not yet sexually active. Those who are true virgins or who have not yet been infected with the virus stand the best chances of benefitting most from it. Those who aren’t virgins anymore, however, shouldn’t exempt themselves as this may still protect them from HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Types 16 and 18 cause cervical, anal, vaginal and penile cancers.

Remember, Gardasil is a preventative vaccine. It is by no means a cure. If you’ve got HPV, no amount of Gardasil can cure genital warts or cancer.

Tell Me More About HPV

HPV is a common virus that is transmitted during sexual contact, involving genital, anal and oral sex. There are 40 types. Most men who contract the virus don’t know they have it because most of the time, there are no manifestations or signs. But if they do contract particular HPV types, they would know they have the virus if genital warts or symptoms of the dreaded “C” start popping up. HPV are also known to cause throat, head and neck cancers, possible effects of viral transmission via oral sex.

If you discover you’ve got HPV, don’t start blaming your partner. You can be the culprit. HPV can be harbored for years without you even knowing it. You may have gotten it from a long-ago forgotten ex or your partner may also have contracted it from his or her ex way before you’ve gotten together. No one can really tell who the carrier is; so, don’t suspect your condition to be a result of your partner’s indiscretion. In any case, if you’ve got HPV, it’s a huge probability if not, a certainty, that your partner has it as well.

What Are My Defense Options?

The best option (but we’re sure you wouldn’t like hearing this) is abstinence. Hell, NO? Well, you wanted the best way. Leading the sexual life of a monk is the only one hundred percent sure way from ever getting an HPV infection.

Second place but by no means a guarantee are the use of condoms in every, and we mean every, sort of sexual act and position. Condoms are not really adequate measures as it only covers the penis and HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.

Treatment Options

If you have a healthy immune system, your body will simply clear itself of the virus. No problem.

In addition, you should know that if your woman has the HPV virus type associated with cervical cancer, you have no fear of that type giving you penile cancer. That viral type is only dangerous to women so that if you do contract it, it wouldn’t do you any harm. It’s the other types which cause penile and anal cancers and genital warts which you need to be concerned about.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a treatment on hand for men with HPV infection. Only when it manifests itself into a threatening health condition can your doctor treat the resulting infection. There is no routine screening for HPV as well, only screening for anal cancer. Anal screening, however, isn’t perfected and much research still needs to be done. Since HPV is such a common virus which men may never develop health problems from, knowing you have HPV isn’t as important as knowing if you have a disease as a result of it. That’s why diagnosis and treatment are focused on the resultant manifestation, not on the condition of an HPV infection.

So What You’re Telling Me Is…

Prevention is always better than the cure. Trite but a very true adage. It makes sense to look into this option for cervical cancer prevention. Discuss the merits of Gardasil treatments with your urologist. You just may find out something more about other breakthroughs.