January: Cervical Health Awareness Month

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Lolita Carrico

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month and with 11,000 cases of cervical cancer — and almost 4,000 deaths — in the U.S. alone last year, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms and prevention tips. Cervical cancer is mainly preventable — because it’s almost always caused by a sexually transmitted virus, HPV — so a little awareness goes a long way.

- The first line of defense is safe sex. Obviously, practicing safe sex can also prevent a host of other STDs as well.

- Second, make sure to get your annual Pap test screenings, which are recommended for women every year beginning at age 21. According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, 11% of women in the United States report that they do not get the recommended Pap test screenings.

- The cervical cancer vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix have been approved by the FDA are are designed to inhibit two cancer-causing types of HPV. These HPV types are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers.

The vaccine is recommended for girls ages 11 to 12.

For more information and to find out where to get free or low-cost Pap test, call the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service at 800-4-CANCER.