Though knowledge and consciousness are the first steps towards prevention, taking precautionary measures and following these steps can help you prevent cervical cancer disease.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is one of the forms of cancer that forms in tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope). Cervical cancer is almost always caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
Knowing that cervical cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in India and accepting that everyone is at risk is the first step towards effective prevention. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection which is present in 99.7% of cervical cancer cases, and thus prevention includes:
- Having safe sex with a single partner, using condoms though not fool proof, is a practice.
- Avoiding smoking
- Having a healthy lifestyle
- Diet rich in antioxidants, vegetables, fruits, fiber and whole wheat products
- Physical activity & exercise.
- Maintaining healthy weight
- Controlling stress levels
- Getting screened regularity and knowing about pap smear & HPV DNA tests.
- It is appropriate that women above 30 have both HPV DNA test and a pap test at the time screening as this helps in early diagnosis.
- For women above 30, if both the HPV DNA test and pap test are negative, pre-cancerous changes or cancer is highly unlikely and testing does not need to be repeated for three years. If the pap test is negative and the HR-HPV test is positive, both should be repeated in 6-12 months.
Vaccination against specific types of HPV is another way to reduce infection rates and thereby reducing incidence of cervical cancer.
Vaccines provide protection against two low-risk and two high-risk types and is expected to provide protection against 90 percent of genital warts and 70 percent of cervical cancers.
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