LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Testing is key in preventing cervical cancer in women.
January is Cervical Cancer Month, and according to the World Health Organization, it's the fourth most common cancer in women. Around 14,000 women are diagnosed in the United States each year. But if it's detected early and managed effectively, cervical cancer is the most treatable form of cancer. That means that women need to see a gynecologist starting in their early 20s.
"So the recommendations are starting Pap Smears at age 21 and we actually do an additional test now that is HPV typing when you are 30 years old," says Dr. Rhonda Medina, a physician at Lima Memorial Health System. "HPV is a virus that is connected with cervical cancer. About 90% of cervical cancers have a connection to the HPV virus. So, we do typing to see who are the ones that need an annual or yearly pap smear as opposed to going 3 years between your pap smears."
Dr. Medina says that girls can get an HPV vaccine starting at age 9 and women can get it through the age of 40.
