According to The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates, about 11,270 cases of invasive cervical cancer were diagnosed last year, and about 4,070 women died from the disease.
On top of this, some researchers believe that non-invasive cervical cancer (or carcinoma in situ) is about four times more common than the invasive form.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website states that cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of cancer deaths for women in the United States. Fortunately, in the last 40 years the number of cases and deaths has both dropped significantly, due in large part to women getting regular Pap smears.
While I’m always happy to read that any type of cancer death has declined, to me current estimates mean that way too many women still have to face and fight cervical cancer. So anything and everything that we can do to prevent it is extremely important and may also literally save our lives.
Before we discuss the various ways we can prevent cervical cancer, it’s important to take a closer look at the risk factors. Two things that have been shown to increase the risk of developing cervical cancer include human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and smoking. Of these, HPV infection is the most common cause. Of the more than 80 types of HPV, about 30 affect the cervix and about half of those can cause cervical cancer. Being infected is common, but fortunately only a small percentage of women with HPV go on to get cancer. But it’s still something to be aware of and try to prevent. Women who become sexually active when they are young and who have many partners are more likely to develop HPV.
Other risk factors may increase the chance of developing cervical cancer. These include having a high number of full-term pregnancies and long-term use of oral contraceptives.
Now that we know what may increase our risk of developing cervical cancer, let’s see what we can all do to prevent getting it. The National Cancer Institute has a very informative section on its website on how we can prevent getting cervical cancer. First and foremost is making sure we don’t get an HPV infection. Avoiding sexual activity at a young age and avoiding having multiple partners at any age may help prevent HPV, as can using barrier protection like a condom or spermicidal gels when having sex. Also, getting an HPV vaccine can also help drastically lower our risk of getting HPV. It has been shown to prevent infection with the two forms of HPV that are most likely to cause cervical cancers.
Another way to prevent cervical cancer is through good old-fashioned proactive health care. This means biting the bullet and making (and keeping!) that yearly appointment with our gynecologists. While I’m not sure there’s a woman on the planet who enjoys getting a Pap smear and a pelvic exam, the fact remains that these are great ways to lower our risks of getting cervical cancer. You may also want to talk to your doctor about the possibility of HPV testing if you are over 30 years old.
In addition to these preventative measures, cancer prevention clinical trials are always being conducted to see if there are other things we can do to prevent getting certain types of cancer. For more information, check the clinical trials section of the NCI website.
By doing everything in our power to prevent cervical cancer, I hope that by the time the next 40 years have passed, this form of cancer will have dropped down even more significantly, and no woman will ever have to battle cervical cancer again.
www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_cervical_cancer_8.asp?sitearea
www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/statistics/index.htm
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/cervical