American Cancer Society Encourages Parents to Get Preteens Vaccinated against HPV

The American Cancer Society (cancer.org) is encouraging parents of preteens to get them the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to help prevent the infections that lead to many HPV cancers. Safety studies have continued to show the vaccine to be safe and to support cancer prevention, and more than 270 million doses have been distributed worldwide since 2006. The safety of vaccines is continually monitored by organizations in the U.S. and around the world, including the American Cancer Society.

HPV is a common virus that can cause six types of cancer, and while there is no treatment for HPV, the vaccine can help prevent it. If your son or daughter is between 9 and 13 years of age, the American Cancer Society urges you to ask your child’s doctor about the vaccine. It is for both boys and girls, from 9-13 years of age. It is given as a series of two shots given six to 12 months apart, and doctors recommend that preteens ultimately get vaccinated at 11 or 12, but definitely finishing the series by age 13. The vaccine can be started as early as age 9.

The goal is to vaccinate children before they’re exposed to an infection—just like with measles and pneumonia. HPV is so common that most people will catch it at some point in their lives, but the vaccine helps prevent infection with the most common types of HPV that can cause cervical, throat, vulvar, vaginal, penile, and anal cancers.

For information about the American Cancer Society’s recommendations about HPV cancers and the vaccine, visit cancer.org/hpv or call (800) 227-2345.