January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Approximately 11,000 American women will learn they have cervical cancer this year, and nearly 4,000 will die from an advanced form of the disease, according to the California-based National Cervical Cancer Coalition.

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. Dr. Eileen Morrison, an Advocate Condell Medical Center obstetrician/gynecologist, is urging women to protect themselves from the disease.

“The woman most at risk is the woman who neglects her health,” Morrison said. “Most of the women I see today with invasive cervical cancer are those that have not had a Pap test in many, many years. A little pressure from loved ones to get an exam goes a long way.”

While routine administration of Pap tests is the best means of detecting cervical cancer at an early stage, vaccines have the potential to protect women from the disease, by targeting cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV, a virus transmitted through sexual contact, is the single known cause of cervical cancer, says the NCCC.

“I am also a supporter of the HPV vaccines that are available today,” Morrison said. “Yes, regular exams and pap smears will prevent most invasive disease, but at the expense of uncomfortable and expensive procedures. The only way to treat pre-invasive disease is to destroy part of the cervix. Vaccines make the difference between early detection and prevention.”

The NCCC, founded in 1996, is a grassroots nonprofit organization serving women with, or at risk for, cervical cancer and HPV. To learn more about the NCCC, visit nccc-online.org .