Cervical Cancer Screening Posted: 12-29-03 10:00am
January is cervical cancer awareness
month. This is a great time to schedule
your annual pelvic exam and pap smear.
In addition, if you are age 30 and older,
you might want to ask your doctor about
having an hpv test. Hpv, or human
papillomavirus, is the primary cause of
all cervical cancer.
A number of leading health organizations,
including the american cancer society and
the american college of obstetricians and
gynecologists, published new
recommendations for cervical cancer
screening that include hpv testing. With
a negative hpv test, you and your doctor
can be almost 100 percent certain there is
no significant risk of cervical disease or
cancer.
