I wish the HPV vaccine had been available when I was younger.

If it had been, I might not have developed the tonsil cancer that stole a year of my life, along with my taste buds, my salivary glands and my ability to eat solid food comfortably.

If I’d gotten the HPV vaccine when I was a kid, chances are good that I could have avoided the six weeks of chemotherapy and 33 daily rounds of radiation therapy I endured last summer...