What vaccinated girls/women need to know

Will girls/women who have been vaccinated still need cervical cancer screening?

Yes, women will still need regular cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) because the vaccine will NOT protect against all HPV types that cause cervical cancer. Also, women who got the vaccine after becoming sexually active may not get the full benefit of the vaccine if they had already acquired HPV.

Cost and Paying for the HPV vaccine

The retail price of the vaccine is about $125 per dose ($375 for full series). Is the HPV vaccine covered by insurance plans?
While some insurance companies may cover the vaccine, others may not. Most large insurance plans usually cover the costs of recommended vaccines.
While some insurance companies may cover the vaccine, others may not. Most large insurance plans usually cover the costs of recommended vaccines.
How can I get help paying for the vaccine?
Children age 18 and younger may be eligible to get vaccines, including the HPV vaccine, for free through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program if they are: Medicaid eligible; uninsured; or American Indian or Alaska Native. Doctors may charge a small fee to give each shot. However VFC vaccines cannot be denied to an eligible child if the family cannot afford the fee.
Some states also provide free or low-cost vaccines at public health department clinics to people without health insurance coverage for vaccines. Contact your State Health Department to see if your state has such a program.

Safety of the HPV vaccine

This vaccine has been licensed by the FDA and approved by CDC as safe and effective. It was studied in thousands of females (ages 9 through 26 years) around the world and its safety continues to be monitored by CDC and the FDA. Studies have found no serious side effects. The most common side effect is soreness in the arm (where the shot is given). There have recently been some reports of fainting in teens after they got the vaccine. For this reason, it is recommended that patients wait in their doctor’s office for 15 minutes after getting the vaccine.

Can pregnant women get the vaccine?

The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women. There has been limited research looking at vaccine safety for pregnant women and their unborn babies. So far, studies suggest that the vaccine does not cause health problems for pregnant women or their developing child. But more research is still needed. For now, pregnant women should wait until their pregnancy is over before getting the vaccine. If a woman finds out she is pregnant after she has started getting the vaccine series, she should wait until her pregnancy is over before finishing the three-dose series.
Should girls/women be screened for cervical cancer before getting vaccinated?
No. Girls/women do not need to get an HPV test or Pap test to find out if they should get the vaccine. Neither of these tests can tell the specific HPV type(s) that a woman has (or has had in the past), so there’s no way to know if she has already had the HPV types covered by the vaccine.

Can pregnant women get the vaccine?

The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women. There has been limited research looking at vaccine safety for pregnant women and their unborn babies. So far, studies suggest that the vaccine does not cause health problems for pregnant women or their developing child. But more research is still needed. For now, pregnant women should wait until their pregnancy is over before getting the vaccine. If a woman finds out she is pregnant after she has started getting the vaccine series, she should wait until her pregnancy is over before finishing the three-dose series.
Should girls/women be screened for cervical cancer before getting vaccinated?
No. Girls/women do not need to get an HPV test or Pap test to find out if they should get the vaccine. Neither of these tests can tell the specific HPV type(s) that a woman has (or has had in the past), so there’s no way to know if she has already had the HPV types covered by the vaccine.

Will sexually active females benefit from the vaccine?

deally females should get the vaccine before they become sexually active, when they may be exposed to HPV. Females who are sexually active may also benefit from the vaccine, but they may get less benefit from it. This is because they may have already gotten an HPV type targeted by the vaccine. Few sexually active young women are infected with all HPV types covered by the vaccine so they would still get protection from those types they have not yet gotten. Currently, there is no test available to tell if a girl/woman has had HPV in the past, or which types.

Who should get the HPV vaccine

The HPV vaccine is recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls.1 It is also recommended for girls and women age 13 through 26 years of age who have not yet been vaccinated or completed the vaccine series. Note: The vaccine can also be given to girls 9 or 10 years of age.

Why the HPV vaccine is important

Genital HPV is a common virus that is passed on through genital contact, most often during sex. Most sexually active people will get HPV at some time in their lives, though most will never even know it. It is most common in people in their late teens and early 20s.
re are about 40 types of HPV that can infect the genital areas of men and women. Most HPV types cause no symptoms and go away on their own. But some types can cause cervical cancer in women and other less common genital cancers— like cancers of the anus, vagina, and vulva (area around the opening of the vagina). Other types of HPV can cause warts in the genital areas of men and women, called genital warts. Genital warts are not a life-threatening disease. But they can cause emotional stress and their treatment can be very uncomfortable.

HPV Vaccine

HPV Vaccine Information For Young Women

There is now a vaccine that prevents the types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. The vaccine, Gardasil®, is given in three shots over six-months. The vaccine is routinely recommended for 11 and 12 year old girls. It is also recommended for girls and women age 13 through 26 who have not yet been vaccinated or completed the vaccine series.

Staging

When cancer is diagnosed, staging tests help determine how extensive the cancer is in terms of its location, size, growth into nearby structures, and spread to other parts of the body. People with cancer sometimes become impatient and anxious during staging tests, wishing for a prompt start of treatment. However, staging allows doctors to determine the most appropriate treatment as well as helping to determine prognosis.

Staging may use scans or other imaging tests, such as x-ray, CT, MRI, bone scintigraphy, or positron emission tomography (PET). The choice of staging test(s) depends on the type of cancer, as different cancers involve different parts of the body. CT scanning is used to detect cancer in many parts of the body, including the brain and lungs and parts of the abdomen, including the adrenal glands, lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. MRI is of particular value in detecting cancers of the brain, bone, and spinal cord.

Biopsies are often needed for staging and can sometimes be done together with the initial surgical treatment of a cancer. For example, during a laparotomy (an abdominal operation) to remove colon cancer, a surgeon removes nearby lymph nodes to check for spread of the cancer. During surgery for breast cancer, the surgeon biopsies or removes lymph nodes located in the armpit to determine whether the breast cancer has spread there; this information along with features of the primary tumor helps the doctor determine whether further treatment is needed. When staging is based only on initial biopsy results, physical examination, and imaging, the stage is referred to as clinical. When the doctor uses results of a surgical procedure or additional biopsies, the stage is referred to as pathologic. The clinical and pathologic stage may differ

In addition to imaging tests, doctors often obtain blood tests to see if the cancer has begun to affect the liver, bone, or kidneys.

Diagnostic Tests and Staging

Diagnosis

Usually, when a doctor first suspects cancer, some type of imaging study, such as x-ray, ultrasonography, or computed tomography (CT), is performed. For example, a person with chronic cough and weight loss might have a chest x-ray; a person with recurrent headaches and trouble seeing might have a CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their head. Although these tests can show the presence, location, and size of an abnormal mass, they cannot confirm that cancer is the cause. Cancer is confirmed by finding cancer cells on microscopic examination of samples from the suspected area. Usually, the sample must be a piece of tissue, although sometimes examination of the blood is adequate (such as in leukemia). Obtaining a tissue sample is termed a biopsy. Biopsies can be performed by cutting out a small piece of tissue with a scalpel, but very commonly the sample is obtained using a hollow needle. Such tests are commonly done without the need for an overnight hospital stay (outpatient procedure). Doctors often use ultrasonography or a CT scan to guide the needle to the right location. Because biopsies can be painful, the person is usually given a local anesthetic to numb the area.

Screening

Screening tests serve to detect the possibility that a cancer is present before symptoms occur. Screening tests usually are not definitive; results are confirmed or disproved with further examinations and tests. Diagnostic tests are performed once a doctor suspects that a person has cancer.

Tumor markers are substances secreted into the bloodstream by certain tumors. It was first thought that measuring levels of these markers would be an excellent way to screen asymptomatic people for cancer. However, tumor markers are often present to some extent in the blood of people who do not have cancer. Finding a tumor marker does not necessarily mean a person has cancer, and tumor markers have a very limited role in cancer screening.

Cancer Diagnosis

Cancer is suspected based on a person's symptoms, the results of a physical examination, and sometimes the results of screening tests. Occasionally, x-rays obtained for other reasons such as an injury, show abnormalities that might be cancer. Confirmation that cancer is present requires other tests (termed diagnostic tests). After cancer is diagnosed, it is staged. Staging is a way of describing how advanced the cancer has become, including such criteria as how big it is and whether it has spread to neighboring tissue or more distantly to lymph nodes or other organs.