Cervical cancer awareness month
Dear Editor
January is cervical cancer awareness month. In the U.S. more than 12,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 4,000 women died from cervical cancer.
High-risk HPV -- human papillomavirus -- types are directly related to cervical cancer, yet many women are unaware of what HPV is or the relationship it has to cervical cancer. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. There are more than 100 types of HPV. About 20 million people in the U.S. are infected and about 6.2 million more get infected each year. Even if a woman has had the HPV/cervical cancer vaccine, she needs to continue to get her regular exam as recommended.
Although in the past 40 years, the number of cases of cervical cancer and number of deaths from cervical cancer have decreased significantly, the disease remains a serious health threat. Cervical cancer is preventable and curable if caught in time. Important strategies to reduce your risk are by getting annual exams as well as prevention of HPV with the vaccine.
Becky Brooks,
Clinic Nurse,
People's Family Health Service,
McCook, Nebraska