Mona AlvaradoFrazier
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By Mona AlvaradoFrazier / Guest contributor
During National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January), it is important to remind women of the tools they have to combat cervical cancer. However, information is free and awareness is one of the primary tools needed to help combat cervical cancer.
Latinas are more likely to develop and die of cervical cancer because they are less likely to have access to early screening and early treatment or be able to pay for vaccines, screenings, or treatment. The incidence of cervical cancer for Latina women in the United States is almost twice as high as non-Latina white women. Each year approximately 12,000 women get cervical cancer in the U.S. This cancer, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), is sexually transmitted.
There are hundreds of types of HPV. Some HPV types can cause changes on a woman’s cervix that can lead to cervical cancer over time, while other types can cause genital warts. It can take weeks, months, or even years after exposure to HPV before symptoms develop or the virus is detected.
HPV is so common that most people get it at some time in their lives, but don’t know they have the virus since it usually causes no symptoms. In 90 percent of cases, the body’s immune system clears HPV naturally within two years.
When HPV infections are not cleared from your body, it can cause genital warts, cervical cancer, or other cancers of the reproductive system.
The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancers. There is no way to know which people who have HPV will go on to develop cancer or other health problems.
There are several ways that people can lower their chances of getting HPV. These are more tools that can help you lower your risk for cervical cancer.
Two FDA approved vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil, are available to protect females against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. One of these vaccines (Gardasil) also protects against most genital warts. Either vaccine is recommended for girls as young as 9 years of age through 26 years. Approximately 35 percent of girls and young women who are eligible for these vaccines have completed the three-dose series.
One available vaccine (Gardasil) protects males against most genital warts and cancers. Gardasil is recommended for 11 and 12 year-old boys, and for males 13 through 26 years of age, who did not get any or all of the shots when they were younger.
For those who choose to be sexually active, condoms may lower the risk of HPV. Condoms may also lower the risk of developing HPV-related diseases, such as genital warts and cervical cancer. But HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom -, so condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
People can also lower their chances of getting HPV by being in a faithful relationship with one partner, limiting their number of sex partners, and choosing a partner who has had no or few prior sex partners. But even people with only one lifetime sex partner can get HPV. The only sure way to prevent HPV is to avoid all sexual activity.
Although, there is no treatment for the virus itself, only treatments for the diseases that HPV can cause.
Cervical cancer usually does not have symptoms until it is quite advanced. Cervical cancer can also be prevented with routine cervical cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal results. The Pap test can find abnormal cells on the cervix so that they can be removed before cancer develops.
The Pap test, recommended for all women between the ages of 21 and 65 years old, can be done in a doctor’s office or clinic. During the Pap test, the doctor will use a plastic or metal instrument, called a speculum, to widen your vagina. This helps the doctor examine the vagina and the cervix, and collect a few cells and mucus from the cervix and the area around it. The cells are placed on a slide or in a bottle of liquid and sent to a laboratory. The laboratory will check to be sure that the cells are normal.
It can take up to three weeks to receive your Pap test results. If your test shows that something might not be normal, your doctor will contact you to follow up. There are many reasons why Pap test results might not be normal. It usually does not mean you have cancer.
If your Pap test results show cells that are not normal and may become cancer, your doctor will let you know if you need to be treated. Treatment usually prevents cervical cancer from developing.
If you are older than 65 and have had normal Pap test results for several years, or if you have had your cervix removed as part of a total hysterectomy for non-cancerous conditions, like fibroids, your doctor may tell you that you do not need to have a Pap test anymore.
An HPV DNA test, which can find HPV on a woman’s cervix, may also be used with a Pap test in certain cases. Even women who got the vaccine when they were younger need regular cervical cancer screening because the vaccine protects against most, but not all, cervical cancers.
If you get the HPV test in addition to the Pap test, the cells collected during the Pap test will be tested for HPV at the laboratory. Talk with your doctor, nurse, or other health care professional about whether the HPV test is right for you.
The good news is that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers: when caught early, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100 percent.
Prevention is always better than treatment. See www.cancer.org for more information.
Planned Parenthood health centers also offer affordable health care and confidential services like HPV vaccinations and Pap tests to women and teens. Many health insurance companies cover the vaccine, and some programs allow people without insurance to be vaccinated for little to no cost.
If you have a low income or do not have health insurance, you may be able to get a free or low-cost Pap test through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Find out if you qualify at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/screenings.htm
— Mona AlvaradoFrazier is a writer. To see more of her work, visit http://www.alvaradofrazier.com