Gynecologic Awareness Month - Are you in the know?

 

Learn more from the National Council of Women's Organizations' Health Task Force

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In 2008, 11,070 U.S. women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 3,870 women will die from this disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Yet, cervical cancer is 100 percent preventable. We know it is caused by persistent infection with high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus.

Women aged 65 and older comprise 20 percent of all new cervical cancer cases and are 35 percent more likely to die of the disease versus younger women.

What every woman should know:

• Girls aged 11 and 12 should get the HPV vaccine, and other girls and women ages 9 through 26, or their parents if appropriate, should ask their clinician about getting the HPV vaccine.
• All women should get regular Pap tests, beginning at age 21 or within 3 years of becoming sexually active, at a frequency recommended by their clinician.
• Women age 30 and older should get an HPV test with their Pap test.

Do you know the facts about cervical cancer and HPV? Download the fact sheet.

Find out what older women should know about cervical cancer prevention and testing for cervical cancer and HPV.