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Cervical Cancer Awareness
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That old axiom holds true when it comes to diseases such as cervical cancer. While cervical cancer is a very serious disease, now more than ever it’s also a very preventable disease.
Cervical cancer occurs when extra cells in the cervix form a tumor. Cervical cancer is most often caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), a family of common viruses that cause most gynecologic cancers. There are no symptoms associated with HPV and most women infected with HPV will not get cervical cancer. However, if HPV does not go away on its own there is a chance that it may cause cervical cancer.
Risk Factors
Factors that increase your risk of cervical cancer include:
• Not having regular Pap tests
• Not following up with your doctor if you had a Pap test result that is not normal
• Having HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, or another condition that makes it hard for your body to fight off health
problems
• Smoking
Detection
The best way to determine if the cervix contains abnormal cells is by having a Pap test. Pap tests allow your doctor to examine cells collected from the cervix. According to the National Cancer Institute, most invasive cancers of the cervix can be prevented if women have Pap tests regularly. Six out of 10 cervical cancers occur in women who have never received a Pap test or have not been tested in the past five years. There is also an HPV test that looks for the virus that causes cell changes.
Prevention
There is now a vaccine to prevent HPV infection. The vaccine works by protecting against the four types of HPV that most commonly cause these diseases. The vaccine is licensed by the Federal Drug Agency for girls and women ages 9 through 26 and is given in a serious of three injections over a six-month period. The vaccine works best in females who haven’t been exposed to the virus. The HPV vaccine has proven to be very effective and can reduce the number of cervical cancer cases by up to 70 percent.
Remember, cervical cancer is preventable and you can do your part by getting vaccinated early, getting a regular Pap test, and getting an HPV test when recommended by your healthcare provider.
For more information on cervical cancer, download this information sheet, or go to the following web sites: Centers for Disease Control or National Cancer Institute.