Bringing Awareness to Cervical Health
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) wants to spread awareness about the importance of cervical health to women everywhere.
One virus that impacts thousands of women every year is HPV (human papillomavirus).
HPV is a very common infection that spreads through sexual activity, and it causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. At any given time, 79 million Americans have HPV, but many people with HPV don’t know they are infected. Yearly, 13,000 HPV cases in women will turn into cervical cancer.
The good news? There’s a lot that can be done to prevent cervical cancer:
1. Seek out regular screening tests and follow-up care.
Cervical cancer can often be prevented with regular screening tests and follow-up care.
Women- begin receiving routine Pap tests at age 21.
2. Talk with your healthcare provider about any concerns.
Get the conversation started, make it a priority.
3. Elect to have yourself or your child receive the HPV vaccine.
Ideally, pre-teens should receive the vaccine by age 11 or 12. However, the vaccine can be administered up to age 26 in men and women.
