Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and How to Prevent the Cancer
January is regarded as cervical cancer awareness month in order to help remind women everywhere that it’s important to get a Pap test to check for cervical cancer. January is the time when people usually start changing their habit of life like exercising or changing your eating habits, but there is another important piece of health that many women might be forgetting. Cervical Cancer Association reminds all women to be aware of cervical cancer through any kind of efforts to decrease the number of cervical cancer case through cervical cancer awareness month. To help raise awareness of this cancer, the U.S. Congress has designated January as cervical cancer awareness month.
In cervical cancer awareness month, American Cancer Society estimates that each year in the U.S. there are approximately 12,000 cases of cervical cancer, resulting in nearly 4,200 deaths.
Cervical cancer is largely preventable yet this cancer will be the cause of death in nearly 4,000 women in the United States in 2010. Thus, cervical cancer awareness month is designed to decrease the case.
Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: What Is Cervical Cancer?
In dealing with cervical cancer awareness month, we must know what cervical cancer is. Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells on the cervix grow out of control. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina. Cervical cancer can often be cured when it’s found early by treatments.
It is usually found at a very early stage through a Pap test. Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. You can get HPV by having sexual contact with someone who has it. There are many types of the HPV virus. Not all types of HPV cause cervical cancer. Some of them cause genital warts, but other types may not cause any symptoms.
With cervical cancer awareness month, hopefully people aware of the spreading of this disease. You can have HPV for years and not know it. This is what usually suggested in cervical cancer awareness month.
Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: Prevention
During cervical cancer awareness month and even usual days, it is always suggested to have early detection for the cervical cancer. This is done due to the prevention of the cancer grow. Basically, there are two ways to detect early cervical cancer. The first is Pap test. A Pap test can find changes in cervical cells before they turn into cancer. If you treat these cell changes, you may prevent cervical cancer. Screening with the Pap test is recommended for women beginning at age 21.
Women from ages 21 to 30 should be screened every two years. Women age 30 and older who have had three consecutive negative cervical cytology test results may be screened once every three years. Women with certain risk factors may need more frequent screening.
According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, 11 percent of women in the United States report that they do not have a Pap test, and many women are not aware of HPV or its relationship to cervical cancer. This is why it is important for you to have regular Pap tests. The second way is through vaccine. The vaccines are designed to prevent the most common HPV infections that cause cervical cancer
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With cervical cancer awareness month we will know that the vaccine is recommended for girls ages 11 to 12, although it can be given to girls as young as 9. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a catch-up immunization for girls and women ages 13 to 26 who have not been vaccinated or who have not completed the full vaccine series.
Must it be during cervical cancer awareness month? You musts note that, detecting the cervical cancer can be done anytime you need by making appointment with your doctors. It does not have to be in cervical cancer awareness month.
