Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month. Nearly 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, but the disease is preventable with vaccination and appropriate screening.

HPC Vaccines can help prevent infection from both high-risk HPV types that can lead to cervical cancer and low-risk types that cause genital warts. The CDC recommends all girls and boys get the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12 as the vaccine produces a stronger immune response when taken in the preteen years. For this reason, up until age 14, only two doses of the vaccine are required. The vaccine is available for all males and females through age 45 but, for those 15 years and older, a full three-dose series is needed.

A Pap test can find cell changes to the cervix caused by HPV. HPV tests find the virus and help healthcare providers know which women are at highest risk for cervical cancer. Pap and HPV tests (either alone or in combination) are recommended for women over 30: each woman should ask her health care provider how often she should be screened and which tests are right for her.

Source: http://www.nccc-online.org/hpvcervical-cancer/cervical-health-awareness-month/