"Suzanne Waltman, 47, of St. Clair Shores campaigned against Gardasil. Her daughter Dayna, 16, did not receive the vaccine."

"The Gardasil vaccine prevents against four strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV. It requires three shots over six months and is offered through private doctors' offices. Here are some metro Detroit locations where it is available:"

"Nurse Kay Renny pushes up the blue-and white-striped blouse sleeve on Jessica Bancroft's right arm and gently swabs rubbing alcohol onto a quarter-size spot just below Bancroft's shoulder."

"Bancroft, a 26-year-old Detroiter, grimaces as Renny pokes a needle into her arm. But it takes less than 30 seconds for Renny, who works for the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Michigan, to finish administering the shot -- a dose of Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against four strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted disease."

"Hailed by many for its potential to prevent cervical cancer by blocking two HPV strains that can cause about 70% of such cancer (as well as two other strains that cause genital warts), Gardasil also has been the eye of political, medical and moral storms in Michigan and across the country for much of that year."

"The buzz isn't likely to go away anytime soon. Approved for females 9 to 26-years-old, it is now being tested to block HPV in boys and men. Another HPV vaccine, Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be released next year."

"For metro Detroit mothers, daughters and doctors, the very public debate surrounding Gardasil has influenced personal decisions about vaccinations for themselves and family members."

"Some, like Bancroft, view the potential health benefits of the vaccine as outweighing any possible downsides, such as its expense. After finding out that her health insurance plan wouldn't pay for the vaccine, which costs about $360 for three doses, Bancroft decided to cover the cost herself."

"Others, like Suzanne Waltman, a 47-year-old mother from St. Clair Shores, want more research done on the vaccine's long-term effects. Waltman has spent much of the past year lobbying against proposals in the Michigan legislature that would have added Gardasil to the list of required vaccines for middle-school-age girls."

"And there are mothers like Patricia Ferguson, a Southfield doctor with four children, including three daughters. Ferguson is excited about the vaccine's promise to prevent a sexually transmitted disease and is recommending that her patients receive it, but she also wants to make sure her daughters know that she expects them to save sex for marriage."

"Over the past year, Bancroft has heard the arguments regarding Gardasil -- but none of them is why on a recent weekday she sits in a small, unadorned room in the Oak Park offices of the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Michigan waiting for a nurse to administer the shot."

"After watching a few friends her age struggle with other types of cancer, Bancroft, a publicist for a company in Birmingham, simply wants to give herself the best chance she can to remain cancer-free."

""I know that it doesn't protect against other sexually transmitted diseases," says Bancroft, who received the second shot of the three-dose vaccine last week. "But if I could have the chance to reduce my risk of cervical cancer...I immediately thought it was a good idea.""

"Bancroft will go for her final shot in August. She heard about Gardasil while eating lunch with coworkers one day last year. They were chatting about getting the vaccine for their daughters. Bancroft says she realized she was young enough to be eligible for the vaccine and she decided to look into it."

""I take my health very seriously and I try to be very conscientious," says Bancroft, who is a stickler for getting regular medical checkups, eating healthfully and exercising faithfully."

"Since making up her mind to be vaccinated, Bancroft has paid little attention to the buzz over Gardasil, notably the debate over whether or not middle-school-age girls should get it."

""I can understand the controversy, but for me, I look past the initial issue and look at it as a good thing for your health," she says. "Maybe I'd feel differently if I were a mother. But I'm a single adult and I take these matters into my own hands.""

"For Waltman, the mother from St. Clair Shores, working to make sure that Gardasil remains a choice and not a requirement has taken up much of her time since the vaccine's release."

"As president and founder of the nonprofit advocacy group Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines, Waltman, 47, has worked for the past decade to make sure
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