January Is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
Although it doesn't get the media coverage that some of the others do, cervical cancer affects nearly 13,000 women in the United States every year. The more we can bring awareness to this disease, just like any other, the more we can share our experiences and encourage continual research.
Thankfully, cervical cancer is preventable with a human papillomavirus vaccination, or HPV. Of course, it's important to to get the Pap and HPV screenings. The HPV vaccine helps to prevent the infections that lead to cervical cancer. According to the CDC website, here's how the screenings help:
- The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for precancers, which are cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if they are not treated appropriately.
- The human papillomavirus (HPV) test looks for the virus that can cause these cell changes.
Curious about the HPV vaccine? It's a three dose series of vaccinations that can protect you against NINE strains of HPV. Learn more here.