January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

During the month of January, groups such as the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) are bringing awareness to the importance of annual Pap tests during Cervical Health Awareness Month. We were surprised to learn that cervical cancer once was a leading cause of death for women in the United States; statistics from the American Cancer Society show that cervical cancer mortality has dropped 74 percent in the past 50 years. Today, about 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, with approximately 3,700 fatalities. “The incidence is pretty low compared to the rest of the world,” says Lorna Rodríguez, MD, PhD, chief of Gynecologic Oncology at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Thanks to yearly screenings that can detect dysplasia (cell abnormality that can lead to cancer), cervical cancer is now relatively easy to find and treat if caught in early stages. (Most of the cases of dysplasia are caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV, for which there is now a vaccine, recommended for women ages 26 and younger.) Yet 11 percent of women in the U.S. admit they do not have an annual screening, according to the NCCC. After women are done with child-bearing or no longer need birth control, sometimes the routine of the annual trip to the OB/GYN can fall by the wayside, says Rodríguez. At age 75, women can stop getting annual Pap smears if they don’t have a new sexual partner and they have no history of cervical problems, she says.

To find out where to get a free or low-cost Pap test, call the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER. Though pelvic exams aren’t exactly common chit-chat or lunch conversation — no matter what we see in ads for feminine products — do you think you’ll remind women in your life about the importance of annual Pap tests?

Photo credit: Courtesy of the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC)

Tags: 1-800-4-CANCER, American Cancer Society, Biology, cancer, Cervical cancer, Chief, Dysplasia, feminine products, Gynecologic oncology, Health/Medical/Pharmaceuticals, HPV, HPV OncoTect, Human papillomavirus, Lorna Rodríguez, Medicine, Microbiology, National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service, National Cervical Cancer Coalition, Pap test, Papilloma, Papillomavirus, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, United States