Stages of cervical cancer and prevention

In general, cervical cancer affects women who are their middle age or beyond, but can be diagnosed in women of reproductive age. Learn about the stages of cancer is very important because it is the strongest predictor of patient survival and with proper treatment, because treatments are based on the stage of cancer or how much the cancer has spread.

the cervical tumors are classified as pre-invasive whichthe lower third of the epithelial cells become abnormal or invasive in that the entire thickness of the epithelium contains abnormally proliferating cells. established cervical cancer in the lining of the cervix is the lower part of the uterus or womb, which enters the vagina. This cancer spreads not always, but usually only if it spreads to the lungs, liver, bladder, vagina or rectum.

The cancer begins to develop from alterations in cellIt is caused by human papilloma virus or also known as HPV, is spread through genital skin to contact the skin during sexual activity. cervix cancer seems higher than most women smoke. Having many sexual partners a person has a history of sexually transmitted diseases and sexual intercourse at an early age, are some examples include the risk of HPV infection and HIV. In early stage cervical cancer can becompletely asymptomatic. Loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain are some of the symptoms of cervical cancer.

Women with low fruit and vegetable diet may increase the risk of this cancer. When a woman takes oral contraceptives for a long period of time increases the risk of cancer, but can get up when a woman stops taking the pills. To prevent this type of disease,preferred to take certain vaccines against HPV and cancer. Also, how to prevent cervical cancer, an individual must add a little more vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid and diet, eat more fruits and vegetables are also the You can avoid this type of disease.

Cervical cancer: Pap Based on only for the prevention of cancer can kill you

Although the test itself usually leads to no harm, you do not know about Pap tests and excessive dependence on reassuring results may be seriously harmful to health. This, in fact, can kill. The reasons for this apparently surprising statement and other basics that a clever woman should know in relation to the prevention of cancer are the subject of this article!

Let's take a brief historical detour just to see why. The Pap test, abbreviatedPap test is a scraping of cells from the cervix with a small spatula and brush. These cells are then scraped review under the microscope for abnormal or precancerous cells. The Pap test has been around for about 50 years and was a breakthrough in preventing cervical cancer. Even today, as nearly 50% of cervical cancers in the United States occur in women who have never been subjected to 60% of cases develop in women who were not selectedat least 5 years, an argument that was made ​​popular periodic review of all women would further reduce the overall incidence of cervical cancer, and possibly eliminate it. "And true that each type of test is better than no choice at all.

But unfortunately, even when the Pap test is readily available, this can not alter the results. In one example, the projection was made ​​in 63% of women under 45 years died of cervical cancercancer in Scotland from 1982 to 1991. Other reports note that up to 20% of women with severe pre-cancer or invasive cervical cancer had normal Pap test in the previous year. It therefore appears that the standard Pap test may not be sufficient to prevent cervical cancer. Many women have symptoms and up to half have been recently examined with Pap tests at least standard frequency.

The conclusion is that, despite its largecontribution to the prevention of cervical cancer, we now know that the conventional Pap test has its limitations dangerous. Using biopsy as the gold standard of best available, the ability of the Pap test to take an early pre-cancer and cancer may be as low as 20% - 30%. In other words, up to 80% of pre-cancerous changes can be lost if based on the Pap test alone. Used alone, is simply a technology of yesterday or the last century.

By the way, if you areexperienced symptoms such as abnormal bleeding bleeding between periods or after sex, please call your doctor immediately. A biopsy is needed for evaluation and possible, not Pap tests or other screening tests. Research is defined as the search for disease in asymptomatic patients. If you have symptoms, it is past that point. While abnormal bleeding is usually due to many possible reasons for benign non cancerous, you owe it to yourself to be completelyevaluated.

It is very important to detect cervical lesions when they are still pre-cancerous. When abnormal cells are scraped from the cervix with a Pap test and looked at under a microscope, it usually means that there is an area of ​​dysplasia or cancer of the cervix before. In some cases it may also be an early cervical cancer. Cervical cancer rarely spread directly from one area to normal. Instead, it develops over time, usually years.The cells become increasingly anomalous and, lastly, invade or begin to grow more than the normal cervical tissue. When these cells invade, are not pre-cancer and invasive cancer is already present.

Once found, before they become invasive or cancerous lesions are not a threat to life and are usually treatable with minimally invasive therapies. In other words, hysterectomy and more drastic treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy are avoided.

CriticalStatement: We now know that there is a sexually transmitted virus called HPV or human papilloma virus-which is largely responsible for almost all cervical cancers, and we have a simple test for this painful! Not perfect but fairly accurate.

HPV is actually quite common, and most (up to 75% or three out of four) women who were sexually active tend to be infected at some point in their lives.

There are two types of HPV: low risk and highrisk. There are several subtypes of each category, but the important thing to remember is that persistent infection with high-risk HPV that put them at higher risk of developing pre-cancerous condition or cancer of the cervix. The good news is that relatively low-risk HPV rarely causes cancer, but can still cause problems such as the cervix, vulva or genital warts, which can be difficult to treat sexually transmitted. The most positive news is that HPV infections are transient. In other words, they go on their own, usually within nine months to a year. However, since this is a sexually transmitted virus, may become infected by contact with an infected person or a promiscuous lifestyle. Therefore, especially if you are enjoying the active sexuality, this is very important.

The bad news is that persistent infection with high-risk HPV is the most important factor is a condition that can develop cervical> Cancer. Note that not all persistent HPV infections develop cervical cancer. In fact, most women do not develop cancer or precancer. However, the increased risk and should put a red flag is important to carefully with your doctor. Actually diagnosed and treated for pre-cancer or cervical cancer in the past, this is proof that you have had a persistent HPV infection and thereforemore likely to have recurrent infection and / or disease.

The second bad news is that there is no currently approved treatment for HPV infection risk. However, since they usually disappear spontaneously this bad news is not so bad for most women. In addition, a commercially available vaccine has just been made available. The ideal time for vaccination is before sexual activity begins, so that between 8 and 13 years is ideal. However, although there is no agreement on the incompletethis, women under 26 years can benefit from the vaccine.

Women who are infected with HIV or are immunosuppressed for other diseases or medications are less likely to have HPV infections disappear spontaneously. Therefore, have an increased risk of descending to the pre-cancer or cancer of the cervix.

The HPV virus is sexually transmitted, as indicated. Contact with the genitals in some way has to happen. However, given the variable length of time requiredto clear the infection spontaneously, the infection does not mean that your partner has been unfaithful. The virus can live on inanimate objects for a short period, contact with sex toys or other forms of indirect contact sexual transmission is possible.

Like everything else, there is an advantage and a risk associated with HPV testing. The main advantage is one of tranquility. If HPV is negative, the risk of dysplasia or cancer is extremely low. The main advantage is secondone of convenience, since the detection range can be easily extended to three years instead of yearly visits. However, to be complete, there are other reasons to go to a doctor once a year for the care and women. The main risks of the HPV test are related to anxiety and psychological stress to know about HPV infection and wondered how he had the infection, since it is primarily a sexually transmitted virus.

Critical Statement: Warning: Ifare one of the first pre-cancer can disappear on its own under medical supervision. During the treatment is possible and can lead to scarring, pain and infertility. Of course, the treatment of HPV infection alone (ie no abnormal cells detected) by surgery (including burning cutting and freezing) is not effective and may lead to more harm than good. Discuss the risks and benefits of treatment with your doctor. If you are not satisfied with the answers, get a secondOpinion!

Critical statement: condoms do not prevent male-female sexual transmission of HPV. The reason for this is that the virus may be living in the scrotum of sexual partners. Moreover, an anti-spermicide nonoxynol-9 has no effect against HPV.

Critical statement: As for other gynecologic cancers are concerned, the Pap test has been designed and promoted to detect these. Period. End of story! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.The HPV test is only intended as a tool for cervical screening. Technology ovarian cancer detection and uterus are being developed, but are woefully inadequate.

So what cervical screening test (s) should ask for more?

The following information is based on recommendations from the American Cancer Society, it includes my review of the literature and practical experience. In all cases, this means that theserecommendations are as aggressive as it is reasonable to obtain the best prevention. The truth is that what you need is a little individual and depends on age and personal medical history. There is no single answer "cookie-cutter for every woman and you should discuss the details with your doctor.

Can be tested more often than the recommendations given below, but there was no benefit on the basis of extensive medical studies. And there can be some damage. Why? WhyCervical cancer screening is not. Rather, it is pre-cancer. Because of this, usually are not years of built-in time to change events of pre-cancer to cancer, or not. Remember that some of these pre-cancerous changes disappear by themselves. Then, an excess of detection and drug treatment can lead to more harm than good. This is very different from the recommendations on breast cancer screening, where the goal of annual mammographyis to detect cancer early, no pre-cancer. In this situation, the first detection and treatment faster, the better the results. Breast cancer is not going away by itself. Therefore, you see there is a big difference, depending on what you are looking for the detection or prevention.

If you are under 30 years:

You should have your first screening test for about three years after the first sexual contact, regardless of whether or not vaginalpenetration occurred, or 21 years old
You should have a Pap test every 3 years, while they are under 30 years
If the result of the Pap smear shows atypical cells of undetermined significance, also known as ASC-US, you must be screened for the virus high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) should be
If you are between 30 and 65: both cytology and HPV testing should be obtained yearsIf three has more than 65 years, routine testing is not recommended if you haveadequate screening with Pap smears and testingIf recent and / or HPV had a total hysterectomy or total (which means the cervix is ​​removed):

If the hysterectomy for benign reasons, screening is not recommended vaginal
If the hysterectomy was performed for cervical precancerous results, three tests on consecutive Pap screening should be done before stopping other controls.
If the hysterectomy was done for cervical cancer, thedetection times and frequency of follow-up examinations and vaginal individualized and should be decided in consultation with the gynecologic oncologist.
If you have received treatment for precancerous lesions of the cervix and has not been removed:

Pap and HPV testing was performed 6 months after treatment and repeated after 2 years. If it is normal after these two tests, routine screening depends on the age as mentioned above can be resumed. If you have HIV or who are immunologicallysuppressed by disease or drugs: annual Pap test and HPV test should be performed.
What happens after an abnormal Pap or HPV test?

If cytology is ASC-US and HPV is negative:

Repeat after two years
If it is normal at this time, you can return to routine screening depends on the age, as mentioned above.
If the Pap test is normal, but HPV is positive:
Repeat every year for two years
Is it normal after these two tests, you can return to the old routineselection of employees as mentioned above.
Another visual test called a colposcopy, biopsy and possible, is / are recommended if:
Pap smear shows cells that are worse than ASC-US
Pap test showing ASC-US and HPV is also positive
The HPV test is often positive, the Pap test has been, and remains normal. There is some controversy in this situation, with some expert advice before evaluating other great visuals. In many cases, not found, but alsoa visual security and biopsies may be useful. In these situations, it is best to discuss all the risks and benefits with your doctor for a long time.

Summary of recommendations:

Getting tested
Be tested using a combination of Pap and HPV testing with the above guidelines
Report any abnormal discharge or bleeding symptoms to the doctor early, and insist on an explanation
I do not think that the Pap smear, HPV testing and routinepelvic examination reliably prevent other types of cancer
All the above information is designed to help you make informed decisions about the detection, prevention and health. Not intended to replace the relationship between doctor and patient, as each individual situation is different for health. If you do not have a doctor who can discuss these issues, get one! His health continued to depend on it!

Cervical Cancer Prevention Measures You Need to Take

The prevention of any illness can be primary or secondary. The previous involves taking action on the determinants of the illness to prevent it from occurring. The second involves the early detection of disease, followed by acceptable interventions to stop its progression.

there has been substantial media PR about the prevention of cervical cancer during the past half a year. Almost all of it has focused on the human papilloma pathogen ( HPV ) vaccine, which has been called a cervical cancer vaccine, though there isn't any such vaccine available anywhere in the world.

Cervical smears have led to a steady decline in the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in developed countries which have introduced population wide screening programmes.

Yet cervical smears have scarcely been discussed in the media target cervical cancer prevention. This is despite the indisputable fact that only 43% of Malaysian women have ever had a cervical smear in their lives ( national Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 ) although cervical cancer is the second most typical cancer in women ( countrywide Cancer Registry 2003 ). There is an overuse of cervical screening by ladies who are younger and/or who are at low risk.

The beginning of cervical cancer begins with changes in the squamocolumnar junction of the cervix where the flat squamous epithelium of the exocervix meets the columnar epithelium of the endocervix. The proportion of the cell nucleus to the cell size is increased in the epithelium in the pre-cancer phase of the illness.

There is a correlation between the induction of these changes and HPV infection. The pre-cancer changes are called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ( CIN ). CIN is graded as mild ( CIN 1 ), moderate ( CIN two ) or harsh ( CIN 3 ). The CIN moves on from mild to moderate to dreadful illness and then invasive cancer over seven to twenty years. There are customarily no symptoms during this progression, which can be perceived by cervical smears.

Cervical cancer has a pre-cancerous phase lasting about 7 to 20 years before the standard cells change to cancer cells. As the danger factors of cervical cancer are known, behavioral interventions can be brought to prevent its development.

Regular pelvic exams and cervical smears would detect most pre-cancerous changes in the cervix. With treatment, the development of aggressive cancer would be stopped. Even if there's aggressive cancer present, it is going to be perceived at an early, curable stage.

The cervical smear is a screening test that uncovers pre-cancerous cells. This enables doctors to refer those with unnatural changes in the cervix for further inquiry and treatment. It must be emphasized that the cervical smear isn't a diagnostic test.

It involves taking a small sample of cells from the cervix using a brush or spatula. The cells are placed on a glass slide or into a container and sent to the lab for minute examination.

Cervical smears are recommended for all women, although if the woman hasn't had sex. The likelihood of cervical cancer in such girls is thought to be low, but it can still occur. Regular pelvic exams and Pap smears should be done once sexual activity starts. The frequency would rely on the findings and the woman's risk profile.

The use of cervical smears in widespread population screening in many developed nations has ended in a marked decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer. It's critical that patients and/or their mom and pop are informed the vaccines provide cover against certain HPV types and not cervical cancer.There are a couple of vaccines available. One vaccine acts against 4 HPV types and the other against 2. They prevent development of the HPV infection. As HPV infection is a big risk allow for the development of cervical pre-cancer, vaccination would forestall some of its development.

Behavioral interventions have an important role to play and they are comparatively economical. Yet they don't seem to be given the same press as that of HPV vaccines. The misconception of many patients and/or their mom and pop that HPV vaccines are the wizardry bullets to get shot of cervical cancer needs to be addressed by health messages that reflect the actuality of cervical cancer prevention.

In short, there needs to be bigger stress by policy makers and healthcare execs on the proven systems of cervical smears and behavioral interventions if there is to be any important impact on reducing the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer.

Cervical Cancer: Relying on Pap Smears Alone for Cancer Prevention Can Kill You

Even though the test itself usually leads to no harm, what you do not know about Pap smears and over-reliance on reassuring results can be severely detrimental to your health. This, in fact, can kill you. The reasons for this seemingly shocking statement and other crucial things that a smart woman should know regarding cancer prevention are the subject of this article!!

Let us take a very brief little historical detour to understand why. The Papanicolaou test, shortened to Pap, is a test which scrapes cells from the uterine cervix using a small spatula and brush. These scraped cells are then reviewed under a microscope to look for abnormal or pre-cancerous cells. The Pap test has been around for approximately 50 years and was a great advance in cervical cancer prevention. Even today, since nearly 50% of cervical cancers in the US occur in women who have never been screened, and 60% of cases develop in women who have not been screened in at least 5 years, an argument has been made that widespread periodic screening of ALL women would further reduce the overall incidence of cervical cancer, and eventually eliminate it. It is certainly true that any kind of screening is better than no screening at all.

However, unfortunately, even when Pap screening is readily available, this may not alter the results. In just one example, screening had been performed in 63% of women younger than 45 who died of cervical cancer in Scotland from 1982 to 1991. Other reports note that up to 20% of women with severe pre-cancer or invasive cervical cancer had a normal Pap smear within the preceding year. Thus it appears that standard Pap screening may not be sufficient to prevent cervical cancer. Many women present with symptoms, and up to half have been recently screened with at least standard Pap screening.

The bottom line is that despite its major contribution to cervical cancer prevention, we now know that the conventional Pap smear has dangerous limitations. Using biopsies as the best available gold standard, the ability of the Pap smear to pick up pre-cancer and very early cancer may be as low as 20% - 30%. In other words, up to 80% of pre-cancerous changes can be missed if you rely on the Pap smear alone. Used alone, it is simply a yesterday or last century technology.

By the way, if you are experiencing any symptoms like abnormal bleeding between periods or bleeding after intercourse, please call your doctor right away. You need an evaluation and possible biopsies, not Pap tests or any other screening tests. Screening is defined as looking for disease in the absence of symptoms. If you already have symptoms, it is past that point. While abnormal bleeding is usually due to many possible benign non-cancerous reasons, you owe it to yourself to be fully evaluated.

It is extremely important to detect cervical abnormalities when they are still pre-cancerous. When abnormal cells are scraped from the cervix by a Pap test and detected under the microscope, it usually means that there is dysplasia or a pre-cancerous area present on the cervix. In some cases it can also be an early cervical cancer. Cervical cancer rarely develops directly from a normal area. Instead it develops over time, usually years. Cells become more and more abnormal and finally invade or start growing deeper into normal cervical tissue. When these cells invade, they are no longer pre-cancerous and an invasive cancer is now present.

When found before becoming invasive or cancerous, these lesions are not a threat to life and are usually curable with minimally invasive therapies. In other words, hysterectomy and more drastic treatments like radiation and chemotherapy are avoided.

Critical Statement: We now know that there is a sexually transmitted virus, called the HPV or human papilloma-virus, which is largely responsible for virtually all cervical cancers, AND we have a simple painless TEST FOR IT! It is not perfect but is pretty accurate.

HPV is actually quite common and most (up to 75% or three out of four ) women who have been sexually active have likely been infected at some time in their life.

There are two categories of HPV: low risk and high risk. There are multiple subtypes of each category, but the important thing to remember is that a persistent infection with high risk HPV puts you at higher risk of developing a pre-cancerous condition or cancer of the cervix. The relatively good news is that low risk HPV very rarely leads to cancer, although it can still cause you problems like cervical, vaginal or vulvar warts which can be hard to treat and are sexually transmitted. The better good news is that most HPV infections are transient. In other words, they go away on their own, usually within 9 months to a year. However, since this is a sexually transmitted virus, you can be re-infected by contact with an infected partner or a promiscuous lifestyle. So, especially if you are enjoying active sexuality, all of this is extremely important.

The bad news is that a persistent infection with high risk HPV is the single most important factor is predicting that you may develop cervical cancer. Keep in mind that not everyone with persistent HPV infection develops cervical cancer. In fact, most women do NOT develop pre-cancer or cancer. However, your risk is increased and should put up a major red flag to carefully follow-up with your doctor. If you have actually been diagnosed and treated for pre-cancer or cancer of the cervix in the past, this is relative proof that you have had a persistent HPV infection and are therefore more likely to experience a recurrent infection and/or disease.

The second piece of bad news is that there is no currently approved treatment for high risk HPV infections. However, since they usually go away spontaneously this bad news is not so bad for most women. In addition a commercially available vaccine has just been made available. The ideal time for immunization is BEFORE sexual activity begins: so between ages 8 and 13 is ideal. However, although there is incomplete agreement on this, women upto age 26 may benefit from the vaccine.

Women who are infected with HIV or are immunologically suppressed due to other diseases or medications are less likely to have their HPV infection spontaneously go away. Therefore, they are at a higher risk of coming down with pre-cancer or cancer of the cervix.

The HPV virus is sexually transmitted as noted. Contact with the genitals in some fashion must occur. However, given the variable length of time it takes for the infection to clear spontaneously, an infection does not mean that your partner has been unfaithful. The virus can live on inanimate objects for a short time, so contact with sex toys or other forms of indirect sexual contact transmission is possible.

As with anything else, there is a benefit and a risk associated with HPV testing. The main benefit is one of reassurance. If the HPV is negative, the risk of dysplasia or cancer is extremely low. The second major benefit is one of convenience, since the screening interval can be safely increased to three years instead of annual visits. However, just to be complete, there are other reasons to go to a doctor on an annual basis for well woman care. The main risks of HPV testing are related to anxiety and psychological stress of knowing about an HPV infection and wondering about how one got that infection since it is predominately a sexually transmitted virus.

Critical Statement: Caution! If you have an early pre-cancer, it can go away by itself under doctor supervision. Over-treatment is possible and can lead to scars, pain and infertility. Certainly, treatment of an HPV infection alone (i.e. no abnormal cells detected) by surgical means (including cutting, burning and freezing) is not effective and can lead to more harm than good. Discuss the risks and benefits of treatment with your doctor. If you are not satisfied with the answers, get a second opinion!

Critical Statement: Condoms do NOT prevent male-female sexual transmission of HPV. The reason for this is that the virus can be living on the scrotum of your male sexual partner. Also, the anti-spermicidal agent Nonoxynol-9 has NO effect against HPV.

Critical Statement: As far as other gynecologic cancers are concerned, the Pap was never designed or promoted to screen for these. Period. End of story!! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. The HPV test is also only meant to be a cervical screening tool. Screening technologies for ovarian and uterine cancers are under development, but are currently woefully inadequate.

So, what cervical screening test(s) should you ask for?

The following information is based upon American Cancer Society recommendations, but also includes my evaluation of the medical literature and practice experience. In all cases, this means that these recommendations are as aggressive as is reasonable to get the optimal prevention result. The truth is that what YOU need is somewhat individualized and depends on age and personal medical history. There is no single cookie-cutter answer for every woman and you should discuss the details with your physician.

You can get screened MORE often than the recommendations offered below, but there is no added benefit based on very extensive medical studies. And, there can be some harm. Why? Because screening is NOT for cervical cancer. Rather it is for PRE-cancer. Because of this, there are usually years of time built-in for the abnormalities to change from pre-cancer to cancer, or not. Remember, some of these pre-cancerous changes will go away on their own. So, over-screening and over-treatment can lead to more harm than good. This is vastly different than recommendations for breast cancer screening, where the goal of the yearly mammogram is to detect early cancer, not pre-cancer. In this situation, the earlier the detection and the faster the treatment, the better the results. Breast cancer will NOT go away on its own. So, you see there is a big difference, depending upon what you are screening for or trying to prevent.

If you are under the age of 30:

You should have your first screening examination approximately 3 years after first sexual contact, regardless of whether or not vaginal penetration has occurred, or by the age of 21
You should get a Pap smear every 3 years while you are under 30
If your Pap smear result uncovers atypical cells of undetermined significance, otherwise known as ASC-US, testing should be done for high risk human papilloma-virus (HPV) should be performed
If you are between the ages of 30 and 65: BOTH a Pap smear and HPV test should be obtained every 3 yearsIf you are over the age of 65: Routine screening is no longer recommended IF you have had adequate and recent screening with Pap and/or HPV testingIf you have had a complete or total Hysterectomy (meaning the cervix has been removed):

If the hysterectomy was performed for benign reasons, vaginal screening is not recommended
If the hysterectomy was performed for precancerous cervical findings, three additional consecutive Pap screening tests should be done before discontinuing further screening.
If the hysterectomy was performed for cervical cancer, the timing and frequency of follow-up examinations and vaginal screening is individualized and should be decided upon in concert with your gynecologic oncologist.
If you have been treated for pre-cancerous lesions and your cervix was not removed:

Pap and HPV test should be done 6 months after treatment and both repeated after 2 years. If normal after these two screenings, routine age-dependent screening as discussed above can be resumed. If you have HIV or you are otherwise immunologically suppressed from disease or medications: Yearly screening with Pap and HPV should be performed.
What happens after an abnormal Pap or HPV test?

If the Pap is ASC-US and the HPV is negative:

Repeat both after one year
If normal at this point, you can resume routine age dependent screening as discussed above.
If the Pap is normal but the HPV is positive:
Repeat yearly for two years
If both as normal after these two screenings, you can resume routine age dependent screening as discussed above.
An additional visual test called Colposcopy, and possible biopsies, is/are recommended if:
Pap smear shows cells that are worse than ASC-US
Pap smear shows ASC-US and the HPV is also positive
The HPV test is repeatedly positive and the Pap has been, and continues to be, normal. There is some controversy in this situation, with some experts advising visual magnified evaluation earlier than others. In many cases, nothing is found, but the additional reassurance of a visual test and possible biopsies may be beneficial. In these situations, it is best to discuss all the risks and benefits extensively with your doctor.

Summary recommendations:

Get screened
Get screened using a combination of Pap and HPV testing using the guidelines above
Report any abnormal discharge or bleeding symptoms to your doctor early, and insist that an explanation be determined
Do not think that the Pap, HPV test and routine pelvic exams reliably prevent any other cancers
All of the above information is meant to aid you in making informed choices regarding screening, prevention and your health. It is NOT meant to replace your existing doctor-patient relationship, since every individual specific health situation is different. If you do not have a trusted doctor with whom you can discuss these matters, GET ONE!! Your continued health depends upon it!

HPV Immunization For the Prevention of Cervical Cancer

There is no doubt that the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine is one of the major advances in preventive health care within the field of gynecology over recent years. Having treated countless patients for HPV-related disease (as young as age 15) I believe it is crucial that everyone is aware of the fact that the HPV infection is one of the most concerning and rapidly increasing women's health issues today.

The potential for certain types of HPV infection to cause cervical cancer is simply a fact that cannot be overlooked. The HPV virus is extremely prevalent and can be present in a dormant state without any clinical signs or symptoms.

Often times , the woman in a relationship will be the first to present with clinical signs or symptoms of HPV (genital warts, abnormal pap smear, dysplasia) when it may have been her partner who was the source of the virus. Very often, the partner is completely unaware of the fact that he/she carries the HPV virus. Given the prevalence of HPV , it is usually not possible to establish when the virus was initially acquired.

Men also encounter medical problems relating to the HPV virus (genital warts and cancers) but far less often than women. In many cases the clinical signs are not easy to recognize in men and thus can go unnoticed.

Women's magazines and public health information is heavily weighted towards educating women about HPV as they are statistically more likely to be the at-risk individual in a relationship where HPV is present. This makes HPV appear to be a women's health issue in the majority of relationships when it is so clearly a mutual health concern which should be addressed in a responsible manner by both partners.

The HPV vaccination is a preventive measure and is designed to be administered prior to exposure to the virus, ideally prior to becoming sexually active. Thus an effort should be made to educate women about HPV immunization at an early age.

This article is intended to raise awareness about the concerns relating to HPV. You should consult with your primary care provider regarding any specifics about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HPV.