Are you up to date with your cervical cancer screening? If the answer is no then this is the most important post you’ll read today.
Nearly half of Australian women are not undergoing regular screening for cervical cancer, according to the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation.
Cervical cancer screening, or pap tests, detect low-grade abnormalities in approximately 100,000 women every year as well as high-grade abnormalities in about 30,000 women.
With regular testing, the disease can be easily treatable if abnormalities are detected early before cells develop into cancer or pre-cancer.
“While women are able to have a pap test or cervical screening done every two years, 43 per cent of women don’t get it done regularly enough,” Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation chief executive Joe Tooma tells ABC.
“What we know is 90 per cent of the women who are going to get cervical cancer or die from cervical cancer are in that group.”
The cervical cancer vaccine is highly effective but it only protects against 80 per cent of cervical cancers, therefore sexually active women between the age of 18 and 69 should be tested at least every two years.
This week is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week and Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation is urging women to ensure they stay up-to-date.
“One of the issues there is that while the cervical cancer vaccine is very effective and very, very safe, it only protects you against the two main viruses that cause 80 per cent of cervical cancers,” Mr Tooma added.
When was your last check?
For more information on my cervical cancer screening is so important, head to www.cancerinstitute.org.au.
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