Protect your daughter from cervical cancer by getting her the HPV vaccine. It takes 3 shots to complete the series, so make sure she gets them all to be protected. It's easy to get very busy with school, activities, work, and all of the juggling that parents of preteens and teens do every day. However, for the sake of your daughter's health, it's important to take the time to get her the life-saving HPV vaccine to protect against cervical cancer. Every year in the United States about 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 4,000 die. If we protect girls now, we could reduce disease and cancer due to HPV.

About 20 million people, most in their late teens and early 20s, are infected with HPV, the type of virus that causes cervical cancer. That's why it's important to protect preteen and teen girls early through vaccination. The HPV vaccine is safe and effective and is given in a series of 3 shots over about a six-month period. The second shot is given 1 or 2 months after the first, and the third shot is given 6 months after the first shot. It is very important to complete all of the shots to be fully protected. 35 million doses of HPV vaccine have been safely given to girls across the country. If your daughter is age 11 years or older, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) recommend you vaccinate now to protect her against cervical cancer. If your daughter is older than 11 or 12 and has not started these shots, it's not too late.

The HPV vaccine is not just for young girls! Young men are encouraged to get vaccinated as well, so see your doctor today!