In the US January has been designated Cervical Health Awareness Month.  I thought I would share this with you - I'm amazed at the number of readers that come to my site in search of information about their cervix.

Here's a few things you should know:
<ul>
	<li>The guidelines for PAP smears in US, Canada &amp; the UK have been changed.  (I mention these countries because it is where the majority of my readers originate) The age at which girls should get their first PAP has increased and now the recommendation is once every 3 years not every year.</li>
	<li>Cervical cancer is preventable yet sadly women are still dying from it.  The most important thing to do is get your PAP smear.</li>
	<li>There are vaccines available for HPV of which two strains (#16 &amp; #18) have been implicated in some cervical cancers.   In my opinion vaccination is a personal choice and I did a lot of research about whether I felt comfortable giving my 12 year old daughter the vaccine.  Where I live the vaccine is given out in the schools to all Grade 7 girls.  The woman who lead the team that developed the vaccine, Dr. Diane Harper, has spoken out against giving it to young girls saying that it was never tested on young developing girls under age 15.  Read about that here:       Women vaccinated still need to go for PAP smears, some experts believe that those who receive the vaccine will opt out of PAP smears which are crucial for early detection.</li>
	<li>Cervical cancer is very slow developing.</li>
	<li>Abnormal cervical cells can be treated when caught early with colposcopy, cryotherapy, and LEEP procedures that can help prevent cervical cancer.</li>
	<li>Invasive cervical cancer is a relatively uncommon disease in Canada due to the widespread use of screening and the diagnosis and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions. In 2006, 1,400 Canadian women were diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer; 380 women died from the disease.2
Invasive
cervical cancer incidence has declined from 15.4 per
100,000 in 1977 to 8.0 per 100,000 in 2006,
2
while
invasive cervical cancer mortality has declined from
4.8 per 100,000 in 1977 to 2.0 per 100,000 in 2006.
2</li>
	<li>The Canadian Women’s Health Network lists many factors which increase the likelihood of cervical cancer developing:
<ul>
	<li>unprotected sex at a young age;</li>
	<li>smoking;</li>
	<li>lowered immune system;</li>
	<li>poor nutrition and a diet low in vitamins A, folate (a B vitamin) and C, &amp; stress;</li>
	<li>not using condoms or other barrier methods of birth control;</li>
	<li>having another sexually transmitted infection like chlamydia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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