January is cervical cancer awareness month

York County, Maine

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and the Southern Maine Medical Center (SMMC) is reminding women to have a Pap test, especially if they have not had one in several years.

Cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent curable when caught in the earliest stages, and regular Pap tests save lives, SMMC stated in a press release.

SMMC is collaborating with the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program to provide ongoing screenings at no cost to women who qualify. Maine women between the ages of 40 and 64 who are without health insurance may qualify for a free Pap test and mammogram under this program.

Cervical cancer is the easiest gynecological cancer to prevent through regular Pap tests and a new vaccination, when applicable, SMMC said. Although cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death in countries where Pap tests are not available, in the United States deaths from cervical cancer have declined dramatically — by 80 percent — since the introduction of the Pap test in the 1940s. This sharp drop in deaths is directly attributed to the Pap test, which detects abnormal cervical cells even before they develop into cancer. Once detected, the cells can be removed, preventing women from developing cancer of the cervix.

Most invasive cervical cancer is found in women who either have not had a Pap test in five or more years, or have never had a Pap test. In 2007, an estimated 11,000 U.S. women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3,600 died from the disease, according to the press release. Many of these deaths could have been prevented through early detection with a simple Pap test.

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