I would like to address (without attacking) all the concerned mothers out there who have recently read into all the false information regarding the Gardasil vaccine.

First of all, I would like to say I understand why some mother’s are hesitant to give their children the vaccine. After reading the intent of these articles, who wouldn’t be. But let me reassure you the vaccine is safe and millions of pre-teens receive it every year.

I feel with so much false information circulating social media it’s easy to believe these stories. For example, I just read an article claiming how Dr. Diane Harper was the “leading researcher” for Gardasil and Cervarix, this information is totally false and also claiming how children don’t need the vaccine. Dr. Diane Harper backs that statement up by telling mother’s across the world that our bodies “can clear the infection in 2 years”.

When actually, researchers don’t truly know if our bodies fight it off completely. We also don’t know why one will develop cancer and another won’t. It’s so dangerous to me that someone with no scientific proof of these alleged injuries caused by Gardasil could urge mother’s to look into the vaccine before vaccinating their children to PREVENT cancer. Let me also remind you, anyone can report a side effect that may have absolutely nothing to do with the Gardasil vaccine. We have to be better advocates for our children, we need to get the facts and not some Internet medical bologna.

I would urge women to go the CDC.GOV /HPV.com for accurate information regarding the Gardasil vaccine and HPV-RELATED cancers.

I knew very little about HPV, nothing of cervical cancer or all the other cancers HPV can cause. In 2006, I actually denied the Gardasil vaccine because I too was misinformed. Let’s fast forward to 2014, after never missing a Pap smear or ever having an abnormal Pap smear, I was diagnosed with stage 2A1 cervical cancer. I couldn’t believe it, I was so pissed and after all isn’t it preventable with annual Paps? I was so angry, I pulled all my medical records and contacted an attorney right away. How could I? I was healthy and took care of myself, I feel when tragedies happen to us we naturally want to hold someone or something accountable. I now have recurrent cervical cancer and currently, there’s no cure. I would do ANYTHING to protect my children, I would die for my children and coincidentally I’m fighting for my life; for my children. I will be vaccinating both of my boy’s to prevent HPV-related cancers, genital warts and to also protect their future partners.

I too was misinformed and not vaccinated. I would give anything to have Gardasil available when I was a pre-teen. The numbers of HPV infections are dropping, the vaccine works guys so protect your children. Cancer is horrible and HPV doesn’t discriminate.

Please talk to your pediatrician or better yet, call the CDC. Too many people are suffering from the affects of HPV. Get your info from a reliable source and not some hocus pocus on the Internet. Ask yourself why are we denying science and why have we become a generation who is opposed to vaccines that have been saving lives for decades? There is no hidden agenda, vaccines work.

Don’t you want to protect your children from potential cancer? I do…

Jillian Scalfani is a #Cervivor of cervical cancer, not once but twice and she’s currently in remission and her goal is to educate and empower women on the facts of HPV and HPV-related cancers.