Cervical Cancer and HPV

Cervical cancer is usually diagnosed during a woman’s annual physical exam. The tissues of the cervix are swabbed and sent to a lab to detect any abnormal cells that could be pre-cancerous. If this is missed during the exam, it can still take years for pre-cancerous cells to turn into cervical cancer (if they do at all).

The highest risk factor for being diagnosed with cervical cancer is if you have been infected with the human Papilloma virus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that in one manifestation can cause genital warts. Other way it infects woman is to cause cervical cancer by changing the cells of the cervix.

The best way to prevent infection of HPV is to use protection when having intercourse. There is also a vaccine available now for HPV that can potentially reduce the amount of cases of cervical cancer that are reported each year. As a woman gets older (30 and up) her chances of catching HPV are lessened.

It is important to note that just because you have been infected with HPV it does not mean you are going to get cervical cancer. By going for your annual Pap test and getting the approved vaccine the chances are slim that you will contract the disease from this virus.

There are other risk factors associated with cervical cancer including other STD’s – it is always recommended to have protected sex. Some of the other factors are prolonged use of birth control pills, smoking; multiple full-term pregnancies and diet are a few more risk factors of cervical cancer.

The single most important thing a woman needs to do to prevent cervical cancer is to go for her annual Pap test. If she has had normal results, an annual test can be pushed back to occur every 2-3 years.