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If you ask a female student if she's heard of the new cancer vaccine, chances are that she'll say "yes."

If you ask her if she knows that it doesn't prevent all forms of cervical cancer, she may be surprised.

Gardasil, a new vaccine created by Merck - one of the largest vaccine companies in the world - is designed to prevent women from getting certain strands of Human papillomavirus, or HPV. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause genital warts, but also causes about 70% of all cases of cervical cancer. There are approximately 200 different strains of HPV and the Gardasil vaccine is designed to prevent the 4 strains that most often cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

Gardasil is being marketed as a "Cervical Cancer Vaccine," but many doctors fail to inform young women receiving the vaccine that there is still a chance of them getting cervical cancer. Most women are completely unaware that this vaccine was specifically designed to prevent HPV - not cancer itself. Because this is a vaccine designed to prevent an STD, students who are not sexually active (or who are over the age of 26) will not reap any benefits from receiving the Gardasil vaccine. Furthermore, if you are already infected with HPV, the Gardasil vaccine offers no protection against cervical cancer. According to HPVfaq.com, HPV can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years to show up, so many women may already have HPV but exhibit no symptoms.

The Gardasil marketing campaign offers students a false sense of security. By marketing this shot as a "Cervical Cancer Vaccine," Merck is presenting the image that students will be protected against cancer - not that they will be protected against an STD. How many students will get this vaccine and fail to go in for their yearly well woman exam because they believe that they are fully protected against cancer? How many students will contract cervical cancer and die because they believed that they were safe?

Cervical cancer is one of the easiest cancers to treat if caught early, and the best way to find out if you have cervical cancer is to go in for a yearly exam - whether or not you have been vaccinated with Gardasil. The student health office offers low-cost exams to students who don't have insurance - so don't neglect your check-up just because you feel that you're safe. At least 30% of cases of cervical cancer are not caused by HPV, so 300 out of every 1,000 women who get the Gardasil vaccine are still at risk for developing cancer and may not even know it.

Get tested for cervical cancer.

It could save your life.

Learn more about this author, Bethany Jones.
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