Nine out of 10 Canadian women between the ages of 18 and 25 are not vaccinated against HPV, the virus that can lead to cervical cancer and other cancers, a new survey finds.

The survey results worry physicians such as Dr. Jennifer Blake, the chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. If all girls and women got one of the two vaccines available in Canada before they became sexually active, "I wouldn't have to see another woman with cervical cancer," Blake told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.

"[Cervical cancer] is the second most common cause of cancer in women aged 20 to 44 and it kills them; it kills young women," she added.

Publicly funded immunization against human papillomavirus has been offered to girls across the country since 2008. Every province and territory now offers school-based HPV vaccination, although the age group targeted varies by jurisdiction, from Grade 4 to Grade 8.

But many young Canadian women are now too old for the school-based immunization programs. These women have to decide for themselves whether to get the shots, which ideally, should be given before they are fully sexually active.

The new Leger Marketing survey was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Inc., which makes the Cervarix HPV vaccine (The other vaccine is Gardasil, made by Merck). The poll found that one of the main reasons young women hadn't gotten the vaccine was cost.

The vaccine requires three doses that cost between $160 and $200 per dose, which means a full vaccination will amount to $480 to $600. More than half of the young women (51 per cent) who didn't have a drug plan to help pay for the vaccination said cost was a significant barrier to getting the vaccine.

Dr. Blake says it's unfortunate that our provincial governments don't pay for the vaccine beyond the school-based vaccine programs, because a lot of vulnerable women and girls are getting missed. And it's also sending the wrong message to Canadians.

"Health care in Canada, we tend to think of paid for by the government. If it's not, then we think ‘Oh well, then maybe it's not so important'," she says, noting that some other countries, such as Australia, pay for the vaccine up to age 26.

The other main reason young women said they hadn't gotten the vaccine appeared to be a lack of awareness. A full 68 per cent had not received the vaccination because they did not know enough about it.

Many also appeared unaware that the two vaccine brands available in Canada offer strong protection against the strains of HPV that are responsible for almost 100 per cent of cervical cancers.

And yet, 92 per cent of the young women agreed that if there were a way to prevent cancer, they would do it. And 84 per cent of moms with daughters between the ages of 18 and 25 would want them to get a vaccine if it were proven to prevent cancer.

Other reasons cited were a lack of a family doctor and embarrassment. As well, 65 per cent of the young women who hadn't received the vaccine said they didn't engage in behaviour that would put them at risk.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world, infecting an estimated 80 per cent of sexually active people globally.

Each year, 1,450 Canadian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, most under the age of 30. As well, 420 women die every year due to the effects of the disease.

The Leger Marketing survey conducted between Aug. 20 and 29, 2010, polled 1,061 women: 499 were women aged 18 to 25, while 562 were mothers of daughters in that age category.