The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department joins the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recognizing January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
According to a press release from Mallory Cooke – Public Information Officer, Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department – the CDC encourages women to start getting regular cervical cancer screenings at age 21.
Each year, approximately 12,000 women in the United States get cervical cancer, according to the CDC. All women are at risk, but it occurs most often in women over age 30.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer, according to the CDC. HPV is a common virus passed from one person to another during sex. CDC says nearly 80 million people are currently infected with HPV in the United States.
“The HPV vaccine can prevent strains of the virus that can cause cancer,” Family Planning Supervisor Ashley Thompson, RN, said. CDC says 31,200 cases of cancer could be prevented with HPV vaccination each year.
CDC recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine at ages 11-12 for both girls and boys to protect against cancers caused by HPV infections. The vaccine can be given as young as age 9 and until age 45. The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department offers the HPV vaccine.
See your doctor regularly for a Pap test (Pap smear) that can find cervical pre-cancers. The health department offers the Pap test and HPV testing. “Cervical cancer screenings are easy and painless,” Thompson said. “They can prevent or catch cervical cancer early.”
Patients can also get tested for sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, syphilis, and Hepatitis C. We also provide clinical breast exams.
For more information or to schedule an appointment call (731) 423-3020.
(PHOTO: Mallory Cooke – Public Information Officer, Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department)
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