The truth about Gardisil

My two gorgeous little girls may still be in nappies, but I am well aware that one day they will be preteens. This milestone will bring up the issue of whether or not they will be given the Gardasil vaccine to protect against the sexually transmitted infection HPV (human papillomavirus), which with the consent of parents has been given to preteen and teenage girls throughout Australia since April 2007.

Worldwide controversy has brought to light the rare but serious side-effects of the Gardasil vaccine and the lack of knowledge about its long-term safety and effectiveness. Many doctors and medical professors have been cautious of Gardasil because of what is yet unknown about the drug.

So far, it has been reported to the Australian Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System for the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Association) that there have been at least 10 anaphylactic reactions, 30 causing other breathing difficulties, nine cases involving convulsions, four cases of circulatory collapse and two cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a disorder in which the immune system attacks part of the body, causing paralysis in the legs and body).

In all these cases, Gardasil was suspected to be the sole cause. As only a small percentage of reactions are reported, it’s unclear how many have not been reported and it’s almost impossible to know if health problems that emerge later can be linked with the vaccine or not.

My quest for knowledge took me on a long, winding pathway, but it became clear that for parents and their daughters to make informed decisions about being vaccinated, they need to be aware of the role Pap smears play in the prevention of cervical cancer and of both the possible benefits and the negatives of the Gardasil vaccine. It’s also helpful to know there are other factors in cervical cancer besides HPV and that there’s a homoeopathic alternative to the vaccine.

How many Australian women get cervical cancer before the age of 75? The answer is one in 183, but your chance decreases to one in 732 if you have regular Pap smears (every two years). Three in four women who develop cervical cancer have either never had a Pap smear or haven’t had one in the past five years. The biggest risk factor in developing cervical cancer is not getting regular Pap smears. It’s important to note, though, that Pap smears have a small chance of giving an inaccurate result.

Gardasil: what it does

Despite what we have been led to believe, Gardasil is not a cervical cancer vaccine but is actually an antiviral vaccine for just four of the common types of HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV is a very common sexually transmitted infection that four in five people may get at some time in their lives — and won’t always be aware they have it.

Having HPV doesn’t mean you will necessarily go on to develop cervical cancer. About 90 per cent of women with a new HPV infection are able to clear it with their natural immunity within six months to two years. It’s when you are one of the 10 per cent of women who can’t that there’s a chance you could develop abnormal cells on the cervix that could develop into cervical cancer, on average, 10 to 20 years later if not detected by a Pap smear and treated.

The Department of Health and Ageing’s position is that it’s critical that women who are vaccinated with the HPV vaccine must still get regular Pap smears … “to detect abnormal cell changes in the cervix. This is because the cervical cancer vaccine does not protect against all types of cancer-causing HPV.” Gardasil protects against two of the common types that can cause 70 per cent of cervical cancer, but there are at least 15 known types of HPV that have the potential to lead to cervical cancer.

Gardasil is said to prevent about half of the high-grade abnormalities on the cervix that may lead to cervical cancer. The chance of a 20– to 29-year-old woman getting high-grade abnormal cells detected by a Pap smear if not vaccinated with Gardasil is currently about 1780 in 100,000 (1.77 per cent chance). If, hopefully, a woman between 20 and 29 manages to still have immunity from Gardasil (if she got Gardasil years before, it’s not known how long the protection will last), the chance of her getting a high-grade abnormal Pap smear if vaccinated with Gardasil is about 890 in 100,000 (0.89 per cent chance). To some, the difference between 0.89 per cent and 1.77 per cent may not seem like much.

Negatives and unknowns

1. Gardasil has never yet been proved to prevent cervical cancer.
2. The chance of having a serious reaction to Gardasil is unclear — only a small percentage of reactions end up being reported and it’s uncertain how many serious reactions are assumed to have another cause.
3. Up to 90 per cent of young women who are vaccinated with Gardasil experience a reaction (although considered minor).
4. It is not known how long the vaccine will offer protection — for example, if a 12-year-old girl is vaccinated with Gardasil, the protection could likely fade by the time she is 18 or 20, and a booster has not been decided.
5. Gardasil has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer or damage genes and DNA. The manufacturer, CSL Biotherapies, states in its Gardasil Product Information leaflet: “Gardasil has not been evaluated for carcinogenic potential. Gardasil has not been evaluated for genotoxic potential.”
6. There has been speculation as to whether vaccinating against four types of HPV could cause other types to be stronger.
7. It is a very new vaccine and there have been numerous claims that it has not been adequately tested. “A cautious approach may be warranted in light of important unanswered questions about overall vaccine effectiveness, duration of protection, and adverse effects that may emerge over time.” — The New England Journal of Medicine, ‘HPV Vaccination: More Answers, More Questions’, May 10, 2007.

A natural alternative

While vitamins, glyconutrients and a healthy diet and lifestyle can boost the immune system, there is also another alternative to vaccination: homoeoprophylaxis, little white homoeopathic pillules that are placed under the tongue to offer protection against diseases and against infections such as HPV.

Dr Isaac Golden, one of Australia’s most experienced homoeopathic practitioners and teachers, is based in Gisborne, Victoria, and is world-renowned for his extensive long-term studies on vaccinations, both their benefits and side-effects, and the similar effectiveness of homoeoprophylaxis for over 20 years. It is about 90 per cent effective in protection, which is comparable with the effectiveness of conventional vaccination. No protection is a guarantee.

Other contributing factors

There are other causes of cervical cancer than HPV alone, which are almost never mentioned. Some research that suggests factors such as having the first sexual experience at a very young age or you or your partner having many past sexual partners and not using condoms (which are 70 per cent effective in protecting against HPV) give you a greater chance of being exposed to more HPV types. Long-term use of the pill, a diet lacking in nutrients such as folate and vitamin C, co-infection with other STIs such as chlamydia as well as a weakened immune system are also contributing factors.

Whether or not you or your daughter choose to have the Gardasil vaccine, it is empowering to know that the chances of getting HPV and then cervical cancer later on can be minimised by making the right lifestyle choices and that there is a homoeopathic alternative to consider.