Is anyone else out there irritated by the fact that the Gardasil commercials lead people to belive that women are the only people that get HPV, and that it prevents HPV/cervical cancer when i only protects against 4 of over 100 srains of HPV. Also it never once states that HPV is a sexually transmitted disease? I think it really takes responsibility from men and women who are or may becaome sexually active to protect their sexual health. Anyone agree?|||Gardasil commercials are targeted towards women because of the cervical cancer it can cause for them. Men don%26#039;t have a cervix, so obviously this doesn%26#039;t affect them directly. HPV CAN directly affect men though (don%26#039;t get me wrong), but the main concern with HPV is the cervical cancer it can cause which doesn%26#039;t affect men.

Also, yes, it%26#039;s true that Gardasil only protects a woman from 4 different strains of HPV. But, those 4 different strains are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancer cases and about 90% of genital wart cases. Those are HUGE numbers. Sure, it%26#039;s always possibly to get a strain of HPV that isn%26#039;t protected by the vaccine (there are over 120 different kinds of HPV). But, if a woman does get the vaccine she has a greater chance of NOT developing genital warts or cervical cancer then if she didn%26#039;t get the vaccine.

Although Gardasil hasn%26#039;t been approved for boys/men, they are doing studies on it. Hopefully it will be approved and some men can prevent contracting the STD and even prevent spreading it on to women they have sex with.

I totally agree with you about people needing to take responsibility though. After all, you only get one life so you need to take care of it! Know who you have sex with and know their sexually history as well as your own.

Take care!

http://www.gardasil.com/

***Just wanted to add one more thing. HPV is not ALWAYS sexually transmitted. There are over 120 different kinds of HPV and only about 30 or so of those kinds are sexually transmitted. The remaining 90 or so kinds are NOT sexually transmitted. Common warts found on the hands, feet, elbows, knees, face, etc. are NOT sexually transmitted, but they are ALL caused by HPV.|||I agree.

I never believe the fact you mentioned about Gardasil commercials, because I have been living with HPV for years and I%26#039;m now seeking a girlfriend on www.pozcupid.com. You can also find many men with HPV.|||HPV is another word for STD…and yes, if you protect yourself from STDs - you%26#039;re not going to have HPV…

I sell life insurance and I%26#039;m getting REALLY tired of UNinformed idiots who tell me they%26#039;re %26quot;PREcancerous%26quot; because they%26#039;ve watched that dumba**ss commercial and think that HPV is a death sentence|||The commercials bother me even more because they bring up the word cancer like a million times. HPV CAN cause cervical cancer, but that%26#039;s usually if you have abnormal cells and they go unnoticed and untreated because of not getting regular pap tests.

But this is the drug companies way of getting money from people who automatically hear the word cancer and run out and get their daughters the shot. The only true way to never get HPV is to not have sex. Whose to say you won%26#039;t be exposed to a different strand after the vaccine? And since men can%26#039;t be tested, there%26#039;s no sure way to help yourself since condoms don%26#039;t always work, and now they say it might be transmittable with oral sex.