80 million Americans have HPV, or the human papillomavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and for most people it won’t cause any problems. HPV affects both men and women and in a small percentage it can lead to cancer most commonly of the cervix and head and neck. The HPV vaccine is recommended to protect against these cancers. “The key with the vaccine is that you receive it before you have sexual encounters,” says Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. “So that’s why these vaccines are approved for young children … ages 9, 10, 11 years old, up to age 26.”
