EDITORIAL – An awkward talk or cancer? We’ll go for the awkwardness

This June, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine Gardasil for all women ages… This June, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine Gardasil for all women ages 9 to 26 after all of the controversy that was brewing over the vaccine had finally settled down.

The controversy stemmed from the fact that Gardasil prevents HPV (human papillomavirus), a common sexually transmitted disease. While opponents of the vaccine may have viewed it as a free pass for unprotected, extramarital sex, proponents of the vaccine were only touting the vaccine’s health benefits — it could prevent nearly all cases of cervical cancer.

According to an article from USA Today, about 6 million people are diagnosed with HPV annually. The vaccine works by preventing two of the four types of HPV. The two types it prevents cause 70 to 75 percent of all cases of cervical cancer, according to an article from The Columbus Dispatch.

Now that the vaccine has been approved, parents and pediatricians are faced with another problem: How do you explain to an 11-year-old the benefits of the vaccine?

An article from cnn.com said that doctors are encouraging parents to get their daughters vaccinated at a young age, before they become sexually active, thus bringing about the potential for an uncomfortable talk.

But really, what’s more important here? One awkward conversation with your pre-teen daughter could prevent a terrible disease later on.

Even if parents aren’t ready to talk to their daughters about sex, explaining that the vaccine prevents cancer and postponing the sex talk until later will do for now — surely once these girls are old enough to understand, they’ll be thankful the vaccine prevents not just cancer, but also an uncomfortable STD.

Furthermore, we hope that parents reiterate to their daughters that the vaccine doesn’t prevent all STDs — just one. There are still plenty of STDs that are easily contracted without proper protection. Just because you can’t get one doesn’t mean you can’t get the rest, which means that Gardasil won’t be a cause for irresponsible sex.

So suck it up, parents. Talk to your daughters about the vaccine — even if you omit the sex part. The long-term health benefits will be worth the brief, potentially embarrassing conversation.