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.