Cervical Cancer Screening Month

Will you get a Pap test in 2015? Nicknamed “Pap” for the human papillomavirus (HPV) test that looks for the virus that can cause damaging cell changes, this “smear” is still the best way to detect cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that women aged 21-65 get a regular pap test. If you’ve had several normal pap tests, your doctor may advise you that it’s okay to skip a year. 

 

Today there are vaccines that protect against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. Ideally, they’re given to 11- and 12-year-old girls, but any female through age 26 can be protected. Three doses are administered. Even women who have been vaccinated are advised to have regular Pap tests.

 

Cervical cancer can be silent, so it’s important not to get the vaccine and have Pap tests before you have symptoms. When the disease progresses, symptoms range from abnormal vaginal bleeding to pelvic pain and increased vaginal discharge.

 

According to City of Hope, risk factors for cervical cancer include:

• A weakened immune system, which can be caused by drugs used to treat an unrelated condition. 
• Age. Cancer of the cervix occurs most often in women over the age of 40.
• Sexual history. Women are more at risk if they’ve had many sexual partners or if they’ve had sex with someone who has had many sexual partners.
• Other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Infection with other STDs such as chlamydia, syphilis or gonorrhea makes infection with HPV more likely.
• Smoking. Women with an HPV infection who smoke cigarettes have a higher risk of cervical cancer than women with HPV infection who do not smoke.
• Using birth control pills over a long period. Using birth control pills for five years or longer may increase the risk of cervical cancer among women with HPV infection.
• Having many children. Studies suggest that giving birth to many children may increase the risk of cervical cancer among women with HPV infection.