THE DOCTOR’S CORNER
The HPV Scare
by Dr. Timothy Grondin

This month's article is about Gardasil - used to prevent HPV (human papillovirus), which causes cervical cancer. This vaccine has been getting a lot of advertising time on the tube. The message is “get your young daughter vaccinated before she gets cervical cancer. Be a good parent! Get her vaccinated, or she could get cervical cancer! Then how would you feel?”It's a very compelling sales pitch: Fear usually motivates. But what is the actual risk of cervical cancer? What does the data tell us? Merck, who makes the drug and conducted the trials, published these results: Gardasil reduced the risk by 12 to 16 percent in the general population. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Now let's crunch the data a little further. U.S. statistics show there are 30 to 40 cases of cervical cancer per 1 million women between the ages of nine and 26. This is the age group Gardasil was tested on.

So instead of 30 to 40 cases of cervical cancer per 1 million, you'd reduce that down to 26 to 35 cases. This means you'd have to vaccinate 1 million girls to prevent cervical cancer in four to five girls. Still sound good? Further, about 37 percent of women who develop cervical cancer die from the disease, so vaccinating 1 million girls would prevent 1-2 deaths per million at the bargain basement price of 360 million dollars, not to mention the potentially life long suffering from untold numbers of women who got side effects from the vaccine. Already, 10 deaths have been linked to Gardasil, and at least 140 cases of serious side effects reported such as miscarriage and Guillian-Barre syndrome (a nerve condition that can leave you paralyzed). There's more. It's estimated the vaccine will only last about five years, so if your 10-year-old daughter gets one (recommended by Merck), she'll need three to four boosters until she's 30 when the risk of cervical cancer drops. Each booster exposes her to the risk of side effects. Hmmmm...The rate of cervical cancer in this country has been on the decline for 40 years because women are getting regular pap tests, which can find cervical pre-cancer before it turns to cancer. Is the risk worth the miniscule protection provided by this vaccine? You get to decide.

Yours in health,

Dr. Grondin

• • • • •

If you have any questions or suggestions for future topics, feel free to e-mail Dr. Grondin at docgrondin@advnet.net, or call his office at 810-984-3344.

Dr. Timothy Grondin started his career as a medic (corpsman) in the Navy where he examined, diagnosed and treated people for minor illnesses under the direction of an M.D. When Grondin left the military, he became a nurse and worked on the medical/surgical ward at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital for a number of years. Though he began taking pre-med courses at Oakland University, Grondin changed his mind, choosing to become a Chiropractor instead. Grondin graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988, and has been in practice in Port Huron since 1989.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended for educational purposes only. It is not meant to either directly or indirectly diagnose, give medical advice or prescribe treatment. Please consult with your physician or other licensed health care professional for medical diagnosis and treatment.