Opposing HPV Vaccine "Unethical" - M.D. Anderson Cancer Center President

Texas Tribune ^ | September 13, 2011 | Reeve Hamilton

[DoughtyOne]

I've never asked if you were a doctor. I'm guessing you're not.  Guess on then...

I'm not either but, kids at very young ages do sexual things you and I probably, maybe never did. They substitute anal and oral sex for actual intercourse because they think it's safer. I have two daughters who have told me this.  There are so many things available to us in the way of information, that I am somewhat baffled by what seems to be an attempt to justify giving this medication to ten year olds.  You have obviously come up with a whole global vision based on what your children have told you.  Children have to have contracted HPV, before they can pass it on.  I'm not thinking nearly all year ten old kids are having sexual relations or heavy petting with adults.  Perhaps you can ask you daughters for us.

I'll chalk that right up there with, all the other girls in my class are wearing them, or every other person in my class has one, or everyone else is going, each frequent claims of children this age.

Aside from the dangers or con tractability, politicizing this as something evil Perry wanted to do to young girls is below what I would consider a level of good taste.  But suggesting that ten year olds are engaging in oral and anal sex across the board is not below what you could consider a level of good taste.  Okay, good to know.

You might not care for the guy but, don't stoop so low as to insinuate that absurdity.(and for a $6000 contribution, Please)   I have been quite precise about what I have taken Perry to task for, related to this matter.  You can go ahead and address things I haven't done, or you can stick to reality.  It's really up to you.

[Eva]

I am not sure what you are arguing, but Rush said this morning that the Perry actions did not constitute crony capitalism nor were they a pay to play or other type of illegal action and that Bachman and Palin were wrong to make that insinuation.

Bachman may have destroyed her campaign last night. Palin’s has yet to begin.

[BuckeyeTexan]

No, it’s more like snotty little high school brat behavior.

I told you I had never ganged up on anyone with a bunch of Texans before but that since I was considered guilty of such by you, who doesn’t know me, that I’m gonna start now.

So I did. Yes, I pinged a few Texans. What “message to get you?” I don’t think I included any such message.

Do I keep a list of Texans? No. I just grabbed a list of names from the TX FReeper board.

Now, like a true high school brat, I’m gonna go to the TX board and talk about you behind your back until I feel I’ve done enough to earn the title you bestowed upon me.

You remind me of a liberal who projects his own behavior onto others he dislikes. I’ve only been here since 2008, but I’ve never Texans display the behavior you described.

[miss marmelstein]

Yes, you’re right. You ARE much more like a snotty little high schooler than a 3rd grader. You are also a very silly person and you’ve grown defensive because I accused you of trying to use Saul Alinsky tactics against me. Which, of course, you did - although, so far, it’s been a major flop. Of course, that may change. I wait with interest.

While you go to your Texas board and waste time dissing me, I will be following a very important New York City race that may put a Republican in a Brooklyn/Queens district that has been a Democrat stronghold for over 90 years (Anthony Weiner, anyone?). It’s a race that undoubtedly has Mr. Obama’s speedo in a twist.

[Jeff Head]

I cannot speak for the administrative leadership of MD Anderson and their political views and actions. It is a huge Medical Center operating under the University of Texas umbrella and all kinds of government controls.

I have no doubts that there are beaurocrats at the top who are just that and who look for abject political advantage to advance themselves wherever they can. As there are in any big beaurocratic organization operating under similar constraints.

I can say this however. MD Anderson is among the best, if not the best Cancer Research and Treatment Centers in the World. They consistantly rank very high not only in the discoveries they make, but in terms of the percentage of people with very bad cancers whose lives they save...including my own.

Dr. Rhinese (who is the head of the brain and spine tumor department, and who was my neurosurgeon), is a brilliant, personable, and God-fearing man. He and his team and the other fiver surgical teams he put together saved my life.

Plain and simple.

For details, read my chordoma cancer journal I have been keeping which links to a prayer thread here on FR that further documents those events.

As curumstance would have it, I am at MD Anderson right now as I write this, undergoing my next major checkup...and will be making a presentation with Dr. Rhinese tomorrow, where they have asked my to document my experience as a patient as he presents the technical details of what he did. I will be using many of the videos I presnted here on FR regarding my condition, and also freely talking about the faith in God and experiences in that regard that helped us get through.

So, though there are bad appples and rediculous politics in almost any organization, and I can well imagine it happening here and certainly do not agree with the decisions spoken of by this article, despite that, great good is being done at MD Anderson and that good is a result of the good ethics and brilliant work of the Dr.s and heads of department involved.

[potlatch]

[they prefer to be dishonest.]

I don't understand why you would think that! Where is the dishonesty?

The vaccine can prevent infection by the HPV virus. Most all cancers of the cervex are caused by HPV virus. Certain cells in the body are susceptible to this virus, such as, cervix, vulva, and other ‘private organs of men and women, plus the mucous membrane - tongue, tonsils and throat.

More than 30 to 40 types of HPV are typically transmitted through sexual contact. I know of two women who have it and they have to be on-guard for life. Have to have suspicious cells removed each time they appear.

Young teens are freely practicing oral sex, even in Junior High School.

Was the Polio, Smallpox and future vaccines to prevent disease ‘right now’ or now and in their life future too?

[icanhasbailout]

The facts say this sure looks like crony capitalism:

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/5546651.html

[Mase]

I did just that in the very first post you started arguing with me on and even gave you a link so you could read the whole story.

If you had any evidence of a legitimate conflict of interest you'd be able to articulate it here rather than referring us to some article that offers no such evidence. You know there isn't any evidence in the article so you are left trying to change the subject. The only reason you believe that this conflict exists is because you have no clue as to how research is conducted or who is involved.

He has an existing and presumably ongoing business relationship with Merck; his is not an independent opinion.

So what? Find me one major research hospital that doesn't have deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The reason this country discovers 90% of all the new drugs brought to market is because our universities, hospitals and drug companies collaborate to make it happen.

While all of this is happening without your knowledge, you sit at your keyboard damning the very process that has made it possible to live a longer and healthier life than at any other time in our history. Luddites are a trip.

The rest of your post is garbage.

[icanhasbailout]

The conflict is obvious, I've articulated it clearly several times now, and you simply refuse to accept that what would be a blatant conflict of interest in any other sphere of work is one here. If this is how research is conducted, then no wonder why it is outrageously expensive and produces less and less benefit the longer it goes on. No wonder we are broke!

Just like with the climate "scientists", we have not an angelic force that wishes only good for the world, but many self-interested parties who will perfectly naturally collaborate with each other against the interest of the patients. Recommending that a drug not be given is simply bad business, just like the absence of impending climate doom in one's climate publications is bad for grant acquisition.

[D-fendr]

The same spam and more spam. Every thread.

Did you join FR last month to spam threads?

I don’t know where you’ve been posting before, but that doesn’t work here.

[D-fendr]

You’ve articulated a vague cloud.

What is with these one-month-old Freepers?

[tarotsailor]

Google is a wonderful thing. Google is not an anti-Perry conspiracy.

I got the previous article on page one of results...since that article bothers the litle conversation kapo in the corner, I went to page two of results and found another article, same subject.

GARDASIL: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE VACCINE MANDATE

Controversy surrounds the HPV vaccine, but perhaps no place as strongly as Texas where it was at one time mandated for school girls. How safe is Gardasil and was it mandated merely for the governor’s own benefit?

It began with the commercials, those relentless television commercials portraying women who were surprised to learn of cancer caused by a virus. To be more specific, the women in the commercials were speaking about cervical cancer caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). The commercials urged women to talk to their doctors about pap tests and spread the word about the virus. It was a clever marketing scheme to be sure. After the commercials had succeeded in terrifying the general public about cervical cancer low and behold, a vaccine was suddenly available to protect against the now dreaded HPV virus. Perhaps if it had stopped there, we could even forgive the vaccine makers, however, as it did not stop there, it is an issue that must be addressed.

In 2007, Governor Rick Perry ordered that all girls entering the sixth grade in Texas were to be vaccinated against HPV. In short, Governor Perry mandated the mass experimentation of a new drug on dozens of eleven and twelve year old girls. Let us take a closer look at this disease that Governor Perry felt so concerned about “protecting” Texas’ youth against.

Despite what the commercials would have people believe, cervical cancer rates are declining as they have been doing for the last several decades. In addition, cervical cancer is often a very treatable disease when it is diagnosed early. There are multiple strains of HPV, only a few of which cause cervical cancer and even those few often leave exposed women unaffected. HPV is not contagious like the flu (which kills far more people than cervical cancer today); it is transmitted through sexual activity. In fact, studies published in a 1999 Cochrane Review have found that women who use condoms, avoid sex when they are young, and have fewer sexual partners are at a much lower risk for developing cervical cancer. Perhaps instead of forcing an HPV vaccine on children, the cost of which is over $300 per three-shot series, the time should be taken to keep a better eye on our children.

In addition to the fact that cervical cancer is growing more rare, the HPV vaccine itself presents certain questions. Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, only protects against four strains of HPV. While the four strains it does protect against are the most likely to cause cervical cancer, the vaccine’s own website admits that it does not protect against all types of cervical cancer. Currently the common side effects of this drug can include pain, swelling, and itching at the injection sight; fever, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and fainting, the later occurring most often among adolescents and young adults. There have also been some cases of severe allergic reactions to the ingredients in Gardasil, and even deaths associated with the vaccine that have been confirmed the FDA.

Gardasil has only been available since June 2006, as such, it is still a relatively new vaccine. The long-term effects of this drug are still unknown as subjects were only followed for five years. It is, however, known that Gardasil contains a high amount of aluminum, which in such doses, is found to cause neurological damage to animals. How many drugs have we seen approved over the years, only to have them later recalled? One in particular that comes to mind is Vioxx. In the fall of 2004, the Merck company announced the voluntary withdrawal of Vioxx worldwide. The withdrawal came after the drug was found to cause serious cardiovascular problems in patients taking Vioxx. It was published in an issue of British Medical Journal that Merck was accused of intentionally withholding data concerning the dangers of the drug and even designed studies using low-risk patients to conceal the drug’s threat. According to David J. Graham, MD, MPH, in the five years Vioxx was on the market, it is estimated that 100,000 deaths were due to the drug. Merck also happens to be the same company responsible for the Gardasil vaccine. Is it fair to forcefully subject children to an unproven vaccine that could possibly be found harmful to them in the future?

As there is a vaccine that protects against HPV, parents should indeed have the choice to decide whether they want their children vaccinated. Obviously some will be for the vaccine, some will be against it, but it should be the choice of the parents, not the state or the Governor. If a child is injured by the vaccine, who pays the price? Not the Governor or the state. No, if the vaccine causes adverse effects in a child, it is the parents and the child who must suffer the consequences. Part of parenting is deciding what is best for one’s children, and forcing the HPV virus on children against parents’ wishes is to take away the basic rights of parenthood.

Perhaps it is time to examine what might have prompted Governor Perry to allow the vaccine’s experimentation on so many young girls. At the time of Governor Perry’s decision, Merck had been lobbying for the mandate of the vaccine to all sixth grade girls in the United States, a move that would rake in huge profits for the company. Could it then be a coincidence that Mike Toomey, one of Merck’s Texas lobbyists, also happens to be Governor Perry’s former chief of staff? It certainly does make one wonder, especially when one takes into consideration a certain source of funding during Governor Perry’s re-election campaign. During that campaign, Governor Perry received several thousand dollars from Merck. It is possible that such ties to the company may have greatly influenced Governor’s Perry decision regarding the forced administration of the Gardasil vaccine. Perhaps it was not that Governor Perry sought to protect young girls from cervical cancer, but rather, he sought to protect and possibly further his relationship with the company responsible for the vaccine. What better way to do so, than to order the vaccine for all girls entering the sixth grade in Texas. In essence, he was using them as guinea pigs for his own person gain.

Merck profits from the sale of Gardasil and Governor Perry profits from Merck, and who will suffer for any consequences? The children and their parents. The vaccine mandate has since been overturned in Texas, but several other states have considered mandatory HPV; one can only hope they will not be as self-serving as Governor Perry. Parents do indeed deserve the choice to vaccinate their children against HPV, but it should remain exactly that; a choice.

Sources:

Cervical cancer risks and causes

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=2755

Dr. Joseph Mercola

Testimony of David J. Graham, MD, MPH

http://www.mercola.com/2005/mar/2/david_graham_testimonial.htm

Gardasil

http://www.gardasil.com/

Gwendolyn V. Kelly, MD & Laura Spinelli, MD

Sex, Science and Vaccines: the Decline of Cervical Cancer

Martha Jefferson Hospital

http://www.marthajefferson.org/clinicalfront/website_spring_06/cervical.php

Harlan M Krumholz, Harold H Hines,Joseph S Ross, Amos H Presler, David S Egilman

What have we learnt from Vioxx

British Medical Journal 2007, January 20

HPV - Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

http://www.vaccineinfo.net/immunization/vaccine/hpv/index.shtml

Shepherd J, Weston R, Peersman G, Napuli IZ

Cochrane Review 1999, Issue 3

Texas governor orders anti-cancer vaccine for schoolgirls

USA Today; February 2, 2007

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/327446_gardasil-the-truth-behind-the-vaccine-mandate#ixzz1XtbhGyrO

[tarotsailor]

Now I suppose I’m supposed to never show this article to anybody else ever ‘cause if I do, then I’m a NOOBIE SPAMMER. I guess Perry people use that as a fallback where an Obamaite would normally say “white racist extremist”.

Wearing my Noobie Badge with pride. I am Noobiecus! Molon Labe!

[Eva]

You don’t understand what crony capitalism is.

[D-fendr]

It’s courtesy on FR that if you refer to another FReepers or their post, you ping that poster.

[tarotsailor]

E@+ $h¡+ .

[D-fendr]

Reduced to profanity.

Not a badge of honor on FR. Perhaps on another site.

[icanhasbailout]

Pretty sure I do. Crony capitalism is all this country runs on anymore. We are already banana republic through and through, the only thing left to do is for some to come out and admit it.

[icanhasbailout]

There's nothing vague about "he's taking money from the people whose product he's endorsing".

If that seems vague to you then please check yourself for signs of brainwashing. This is absolutely the first thing to check for if you want to evaluate the relevance of a particular position being advocated. Cui bono?

Excuse me, I'm having a little bit of trouble even believing that this is a concept worth debating, that a direct financial interest can strongly prejudice opinion.

[D-fendr]

What’s vague is quid pro quo. For 5k? There’s just nothing there.

Even Bachmann admitted this.