Cancer Vaccines

Unfortunately, there is not a vaccination to protect against every type of cancer. However, the Gardasil vaccine guards against certain strands of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancers in women. When caught early, the Human papillomavirus is treatable, but after the virus has developed into cancer, there is no cure. Therefore, the person affected begins a painful, uncertain journey to try to save her life. The Encyclopedia of Women’s Health states, “Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may be the most common viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in this country. As many as 30 million Americans are infected with HPV, and each year, an additional 1 million people become infected.” (“Human Papillomavirus”). When this many people are affected by a disease that can become cancer, it would be doltish not to use available resources to prevent it. “Nationally and internationally, the HPV vaccine will significantly

It has targeted cells that work to kill and defend any pathogen or impurity that enters one’s body. In the case of cancers, a person’s cells grow abnormally forming a tumor. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells lose the ability to undergo apoptosis, cell death. Thus, one’s body harvests a tumor that most likely has a chance to spread and become deadly. Luckily, the biotech industry concocted innovative research that called for a new method of cancer treatment. Immunotherapy is designed to program one’s immune system to destroy and fight off the cancer. Originally, it has been mainly used for allergies. Dosages of medication or vaccinations are given to a patient to ensure that the immune system will not overreact to certain types of foreign substances. The therapy requires a drug that delivers an anticancer immune cell, specifically designed to attach on to the specific antigen that the tumor contains. According to scientist, immunotherapy gives patients “long term protection with reduced side effects against the cancer” (McGinley). The purpose of this treatment is to strengthen the immune system and specifically targets cancerous cells. Due to scientific research and the use of biotechnological methods, immunotherapy is able to prevent the threat of killing cells necessary to one’s body. Providing patients with a treatment that does not take a toll on their bodies, nor threaten to kill healthy cells is one relief the person

Although there are many controversies with vaccines, they can help protect us. Vaccines work by exposing individuals safely to a germ, such as from a particular virus, so their immune system can produce antibodies to fend off a particular virus (Lemmons, 172). Producing immunity from 90 percent to 100 percent of the time, childhood vaccines not only have personal benefits, but also, for entire communities and the future of public health (Childhood).

I have chosen this paper since one of my goals during the Integrated Practicum was to gain knowledge about cancer prevention and management in the community settings. I believe that this article might increase my understanding about the usage of HPV Vaccines in prevention of various types of cancer.

In order to understand the importance of a life-saving vaccine, it is essential to learn how they work. Amy Boulanger discusses the process in “What Do You Want to Know About Vaccinations?”. A vaccine injected into one’s body contains a weakened germ, which is responsible for causing that specific virus. By injecting that vaccine, the body is now able to recognize a new virus. It then activates and begins making antibodies. The body also “remembers” that virus. Through this process, immunity to the potentially deadly virus or disease will be quicker, therefore keeping vaccinated people protected from harm (Boulanger) .

Vaccines are proven to be very beneficial to society as a whole. Actually they have eliminated some very severe illnesses in the U.S.A like polio. Polio was an infectious disease that attacked the nervous system, and 13,000 to 20,000 cases that resulted in paralysis were reported until

Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection. Vaccines also help a lot of people not get sick. Vaccines can also help your immune

First, how do vaccines protect you from a specific disease? Well a vaccine is “a preparation of dead or weakened pathogens that are introduced into the body to stimulate an immune response”. Immunity is “the state of being protected against a particular disease”. So, the vaccine actually has the disease in it,

Vaccines were created to protect us from diseases. Most diseases associated with vaccines were highly contagious and are spread from person to person. Before vaccines were created, hundreds of thousands of people were affected by diseases, thousands of people died, and sometimes people were left with debilitating injuries or side effects. After the creation of vaccines, the people affected by diseases dropped and death from these diseases were rarely seen (Why). The vaccines that scientist have created have proven to protect us from diseases.

A vaccine is a substance that is used to build the production of antibodies in order to provide immunity against specific types of diseases. A vaccine does its “magic” by first being inserted into the body; then, a form of the disease in the vaccine is fought in order for the antibodies to build up the immunity to the particular disease, without the individual contracting the disease itself. Memory cells in the body remember the disease. Therefore, if it comes into

The HPV vaccine is cancer prevention. Over thousands of cases of HPV cancers are detected every year in men and women. The HPV vaccination is important because it can prevent these cancers. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved this vaccine and it is one hundred percent safe. This vaccine is preventive care for the second leading cancer in women. It has been proven to be one hundred percent effective in prevention of cervical cancer, but the vaccine must be given to children between the age of 11 -17 before they become sexually active. After the age seventeen with young women most become sexually active and receive their first pap smear from their gynecologist, receiving the vaccine at this point is not as effective in prevention of cancers. Another benefit of receiving the vaccine during adolescent, is it supports people who may not have the medical knowledge or access to regular medical services.

In order to understand how vaccines work, it is necessary to first understand what a vaccine is. Most vaccines are inactivated, i.e. dead, forms of viruses that are generally injected into the body; because the virus is not active, there is no chance of contracting the illness it was derived from. What this injection does is introduce the immune system to the virus so that the body will already know how to fight against it if an activated, or live, version of it should ever

Transition (summary, signpost, preview): Now lets get to how they prevent us from getting diseases. B. Main Point 2: Vaccines were invented to prevent and make infectious diseases disappear, and they are effective in doing so. 1. Sub point 1: “Vaccines are effective because they artificially create acquired immunity, which naturally occurs after a person is infected and survives, this is achieved through delivering either a partial or weakened microbe to simulate infection that does not cause illness”(“ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases”, 2014, para#1).

For this journal entry, I am to answer the question, “How would you decide whether to e one of the first individuals to try a ‘new’ vaccine?” Even prior to reading and evaluating the assigned article by the Institute for the Future, I had previously decided that should vaccine come along with the ability to halt melanoma, I would most likely be in favor of allowing the injection of a trial dose. My reasons for doing so are in hoping that my trial of a vaccine would help others, especially my family members, as there is a history of melanoma in my family. However, after reading the article, I am even more encouraged to allow a trial vaccine. In the article, Avery (2011) discusses the reprogramming of T-cells to recognize cancer cells as invaders, and fight them (para. 4).To me, this is no different than my taking synthetic thyroid hormones every day for the rest of my life, to stay alive.

The vaccine works because it prevents four other types of HPV. If it’s untreated for a very long time it could result to genital warts, and most importantly cervical cancer. HPV can be accumulated thru skin-to-skin contact. This is also the leading cause of sexual disease among unprotected young people.