WHAT EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CERVICAL CANCER
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. This is the perfect time to remind the women you love to schedule their Pap test. This simple procedure can help detect abnormalities before they might develop into cancer. Because of this test, the cervical cancer survival rate has increased to 70 percent.
A well-proven way to prevent cervical cancer is to have testing (screening) to find pre-cancers before they can turn into invasive cancer. The Pap test (or Pap smear) is the most common way to do this. If a pre-cancer is found, it can be treated, stopping cervical cancer before it really starts. Since the HPV vaccine doesn't protect against all of the HPV types that can cause cancer of the cervix, it cannot prevent all cases of cervical cancer. This is why it is very important that women continue to have Pap tests, even after they've been vaccinated. Most invasive cervical cancers are found in women who have not had regular Pap tests.
The American Cancer Society recommends the following guidelines for early detection:
All women should begin cervical cancer testing (screening) about 3 years after they start having sex (vaginal intercourse). A woman who waits until she is over 18 to have sex should start screening no later than age 21. A regular Pap test should be done every year. If a liquid-based Pap test is used instead, women should be tested every 2 years.
Beginning at age 30, many women who have had 3 normal Pap test results in a row may be tested less often - every 2 to 3 years. Either the conventional (regular) Pap test or the liquid-based Pap test can be used.
Another reasonable option for women over 30 (who have normal immune systems and no abnormal Pap results) is to get tested every 3 years (but not more frequently) with a Pap test plus the HPV DNA test. The Pap test used can be either the regular or the liquid-based Pap test.
Women who have certain risk factors should continue getting tested yearly. This includes women exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) before birth, those with a history of treatment for a pre-cancer, and those with a weakened immune system (from HIV infection, organ transplant, chemotherapy, or chronic steroid use).
Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) may choose to stop having cervical cancer testing, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical cancer or pre-cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix (a supra-cervical hysterectomy) need to continue cervical cancer screening. They should continue to follow the guidelines above.
Women 70 years of age or older who have had 3 or more normal Pap test results in a row and no abnormal Pap test results in the last 10 years may choose to stop having cervical cancer testing. Women with a history of cervical cancer, DES exposure before birth, HIV infection, or a weakened immune system should continue to have testing as long as they are in good health.
Some women believe that they can stop having Pap tests once they have stopped having children. This is not correct. They should continue to follow American Cancer Society guidelines. For more information go to www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345.