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HPV & Cervical Cancer Essay

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HPV & Cervical Cancer - What Every Woman Should Know

I was eighteen years old when I had my first abnormal pap smear. I received a call from my OB/GYN's office and was informed that I had the Human Papilloma Virus show up on my pap smear. This was the first pap smear I had ever had, and I was terrified. The news got worse. I researched this virus and learned that it was actually a sexually transmitted disease that could either cause cervical cancer, or genital warts! I didn’t understand, I had been with my boyfriend for five years and he was my first partner. How could I have contracted a sexually transmitted disease?

I had a biopsy done to test my cervix for cancer. The …show more content…

The cells are then sent out to a laboratory for testing. This generally takes two weeks. Most labs use the Bethesda System SIL to measure the amount of cell changes, if any. This system measures “normal” at one end of the chart, to “invasive cancer” at the other end. Generally it is difficult to determine the stage or grade of cell changes which occur. This often means diagnosis and treatment are difficult to make. (623).

The Boston Women’s Health Collective has estimated that 40% of all women tested will have at least one abnormal pap smear within their lifetime. Therefore it is recommended that women of all ages receive annual pap smears to find any pre-cancerous changes before they become invasive. (624).

Recommendations:

The American Cancer Society has made recommendations as to when women should be tested. They are as follows:

All women should begin having the Pap test about 3 years after they start having sex (vaginal intercourse), but no later than 21 years of age.

The test should be done every year if the regular Pap test is used, or every 2 to 3 years if the newer liquid-based Pap test is used. Either test is OK.

Beginning at age 30, women who have had 3 normal test results in a row may get the test every 2 to 3 years. Another option for women over 30 is to have one of the Pap tests every 3 years PLUS the HPV DNA test.

Women who have certain risk factors

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