Reduce your risk of getting cervical cancer

In 2007, more than 11,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 3,500 women will die from the disease. One of the major risk factors for cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted disease called human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes almost all cases of cervical cancer.

A recent report published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association stated that 26.8 percent of women aged 14-59 tested positive for HPV. Because HPV and early-stage cervical cancer often have no symptoms, it is essential that you have a routine test called a Pap smear. When your doctor performs a Pap test, he or she takes cells from the surface of the cervix and vagina and looks at them under a microscope to determine if they are abnormal. The test is painless and quick and can save your life. 

In addition to HPV, there are other factors that could put you at risk for cervical cancer, including:

• Giving birth to many children
  
• Having many sexual partners
  
• Having sexual intercourse at a young age
  
• Smoking cigarettes
  
• Using oral contraceptives 
  
• Having a weakened immune system

The National Cancer Institute recommends the following screening guidelines:

• Cervical cancer screening should begin approximately three years after you start having sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21.
  
• You should have a Pap test at least once every three years.
  
• If you are 65 to 70 years old and have had at least three normal Pap tests and no abnormal Pap tests in the last 10 years, you and your doctor may decide to stop cervical cancer screening.
  
• If you have had a total hysterectomy, you do not need to undergo cervical cancer screening unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical precancer or cancer.
  
• Talk to your doctor if you have questions about when and how often you should be screened for cervical cancer, especially if you are at higher than average risk due to HPV.

Source: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/cervical)

The essentials — Know the facts

• Cervical cancer is highly preventable — screening and vaccination are key.
  
• Cervical cancer is almost always caused by a common virus called human papillomavirus (HPV).
  
• Many women will have HPV, but few will develop cervical cancer.
  
• Only an HPV infection that persists can lead to cancer.
  
• A Pap test looks for changes in the cervix that might lead to cancer.
  
• An HPV test used with a Pap test in women over age 30 can better identify women at risk for cancer.
  
• HPV usually goes away by itself without symptoms or treatment.
  
• An HPV vaccine is now available and may prevent 70% of cervical cancers.

Source: Challenge to Eliminate Cervical Cancer (www.womeningovernment.org/prevention/)