When 12-year-olds receive a letter from the school nurse about the HPV vaccine, their reactions are often mixed. Some students worry about the needle. Others wonder why they need a vaccine for something they have never heard of.
What many of them may not realise is that this routine school vaccination protects against a virus that can cause cancer later in life. For many students, the letter is the first time they encounter a remarkable idea: that a vaccine can help prevent cancer before it even starts.
