Image copyrightKirsty BonneyImage caption Kirsty Bonney mentions she believes the inoculation should be available to all teens
A mum-of-two is calling for boys to receive a vaccine currently only paid attention to girls to protect against cancer.
The Human Papilloma Virus( HPV) jab is offered to teenage girls in the UK to protect against cervical cancer.
A health committee will meet afterwards to review whether boys should also be given the jab, which can protect against throat and penile cancers.
GP Kirsty Bonney paid privately for sons Zak, 13 and Finn, 11 to be immunised.
The doctor from Devon said she made the decision after working on a chemotherapy unit where she seemed after two young men with HPV-related throat cancers.
‘Fear of cancer’
She said she wants to see boys “equally protected” with the HPV vaccine rather than risk cancer in subsequently life.
“I could never genuinely “understand what youre saying” we weren’t vaccinating boys and then I discovered we could have it done privately.
“I’d be much happier knowing all the boys’ friends were equally protected.
“I wouldn’t want to be seeing one of their friends in my surgery in a few years period[ with cancer] because they hadn’t been vaccinated.
“[ The punch] is certainly not inexpensive[ at 540] but the cost of that compared to the believed to be them get a throat cancer puts it into perspective.”
Image copyrightDr_MicrobeImage caption Australia, USA, Italy and Canada are among the countries that recommend vaccinating girls and boys
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation( JCVI) advises UK health departments on immunisation and is considering extending the programme to include boys.
It said there was increasing evidence on links between HPV infection and other cancers.
It will discuss the matter at a fulfill afterward and has asked Public Health England to look at the cost effectiveness of such a change.
Why should boys be vaccinated against HPV?
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About 15% of UK girls eligible for vaccination are currently not receiving both doses, a figure which is much higher in some areas
Men may have sex with women too old to have had the HPV vaccination
Men may have sex with women from other countries with no vaccination programme
Men who have sex with men are not protected by the girls’ programme
The cost of treating HPV-related diseases is high – the cost of treating anogenital warts alone in the UK is an estimated 58.44 million a year, while the additional cost of vaccinating boys has been estimated at about 20 million a year
Image copyright Kirsty Bonney Image caption Kirsty Bonney mentions she believes the inoculation should be available to all teens 
