In the spirit of good health and even better information, we wanted to provide some insight into why January is known as National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
The statistics surrounding cervical cancer can seem pretty scary. After all, more than 12,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, and nearly 4,000 women will die as a result.
But did you know that cervical cancer is the most preventable form of cancer? Cervical cancer is the only known cancer to be caused primarily by a common virus, the sexually transmitted infection known as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). And thanks to vaccines, the risks of contracting the more dangerous forms of HPV can become diminished. For more information on HPV vaccines, visit the Center for Disease Control’s website or talk to your medical provider.
However, there are other ways to stay on top of your cervical health.
Changes in your cervix can occur regularly, so obtaining regular pap tests from your gynecologist is very important. Make sure if you receive an abnormal pap test from your gynecologist, that you follow up. Don’t leave your health to fate, be an active pursuer of your cervix’s well-being!
If you are a smoker, quit now! Smoking has been known to increase women’s chances of developing cervical cancer, especially if you have already been diagnosed with HPV.
There is no better prevention than protection. The risks of contracting HPV increase with the number of sexual partners women have throughout their lifetime. Limiting the number of partners will limit your chances of developing HPV. If you are sexually active, use condoms every time. This will undoubtedly decrease your risk of contracting a dangerous strain of HPV and thus developing cervical cancer or other related infections and viruses.
Only you know how your body feels, and only you can determine if something ever feels off or wrong. If you don’t have a gynecologist that you see regularly in the area, find one now! Do a search online, read through reviews of medical providers, and make sure the medical provider you see is covered under your health insurance plan. If you don’t have health insurance, be sure to check out any number of clinics in the area, or contact the YWCA’s Women’s Health Outreach Program Manager Ingrid Berkhout to access no-cost mammograms and cervical exams in Seattle, King County and Snohomish County.
Happy Cervical Cancer Awareness Month!
Information for this blog post was provided by: Northwest Herald and about.com.
YWCA Health Access: Empowering Women in Health 
Will Blesch
/ January 22, 2012While I agree that Cervical Cancer is preventable…one should consider why the CDC is recommending the Gardasil vaccination.
Remember that on October 25, 2011, an advisory panel to the CDC recommended that the vaccine be administered to boys ages 9 to 26 – creating a whole new market for sales and profits. That advisory panel actually receives a ‘kick-back’ on Gardasil sales.
Moreover, have you ever thought about the actual statistics and why the vaccine is pushed so hard…and why everyone and their neighbor says HPV is such a huge health issue?
Remember, the CDC itself says that 90% of people infected with HPV clear the virus from their system within 2 years.
There are an estimated 307,006,550 people in the United States. Let’s divide this number by 2, which will give us the 50% of people who could acquire an HPV infection sometime during their lives. That leaves us with 153,503,275 people that will likely be infected with HPV.
So, let’s divide 153,503,275 by 2 assuming that of this number, half are women.
This leaves us with 76,751,637.
Of those, only 12,000 will be diagnosed with cervical cancer caused by HPV, and of those, 4,000 will die.
That’s 0.02% (rounded up) diagnosed with cervical cancer. Of that number, 33.3% will die.
That’s 0.005% of the numbers of HPV infected women in America.
Obviously, just one person dying is too many. However, you can see from the numbers that HPV caused cervical cancer deaths are extremely low.
It’s obvious that at $150 per shot (and it takes 3 shots to be vaccinated) Merck & Co., Inc. are going to make a killing if ALL girls are vaccinated. Their motivation is obvious.
Anna
/ January 22, 2012How interesting that your comment is identical to a comment that was posted a blog I write for, but under the name “Simon.” Both comments appear to have been posted at around the same time. Are you going around to different blogs, leaving the same comment under different identities? (The claims you make are false, misleading, or irrelevant, by the way.)
Anna
/ January 22, 2012And, after some light detective work, I am even more interested to learn of your affiliation with a supplement company that has been issued warning letters by the FDA for falsely advertising that its product can prevent, treat, or cure human disease without competent and reliable scientific evidence. The company you’ve worked with was included on the FDA’s list of companies fraudulently claiming to be able to treat or cure STDs.
Will Blesch
/ January 26, 2012For anyone interested, I have answered Anna’s accusations in full on my blog here: http://connectwithwellness.wordpress.com/
Further, she neglects to mention that her own blog is pushing Gardasil because she blogs for Planned Parenthood: Advocates of Arizona.
Speaking of light detective work, Merck created a market for Gardasil out of thin air with deceptive and dishonest advertising,[1] and thereby planted fear in the mind of consumers: fear of an enormous, yet unknown health crisis, an invisible time bomb waiting to explode and harm women everywhere. When criticized for their aggressive marketing, Merck countered that they were performing a public service by raising awareness about the human papillomavirus and weren’t selling anything.[2]
Really?
This lie became public as Merck was caught lobbying the 50 states for mandatory Gardasil vaccination before it had even secured FDA approval! [3]
References:
1. Herskovits B, Brand of the Year, February 1, 2007, Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine, http://pharamexec.findpharma.com/pharmexec/Articles/Brahd-of-the-Year/ArticleStandard/Article/detal/401664, accessed December 26, 2011.
2. Zimm A and Blum J, Merck Promotes Cervical Cancer Shot by Publicizing Viral Cause, Bloomberg, May 26, 2006, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2107001&sid=amVj.y3Eynz8, accessed December 27, 2011.
3. Pettypiece S and Zimm A, Merck Stops Campaign to Mandate Gardasil Vaccine Use, Bloomberg, February 20, 2007, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2107001&sid=atbGQuDYx7_c. accessed December 30, 2011.
ywcakatie
/ January 26, 2012Will and Anna, thank you both so much for your comments and lively discussion surrounding women’s health and cervical cancer prevention. Vaccines remain a controversial issue in the United States. Please note that in our post, we did not advocate for or push a particular vaccine, but rather we encourage women to talk to their medical provider about what works best for them to prevent contracting HPV, to take action to prevent cervical cancer and to otherwise stay healthy.
crocs 長靴
/ September 11, 2013kids ブーツ
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/ September 25, 2013mcm 財布 人気洋服ブランド http://www.paralinterate.info/