by Bailey Porter
LV Life Editor
While October is breast cancer awareness month, another form of cancer is not getting the same high profile attention.
Cervical cancer ranks 13th in the nation for cancer deaths and is caused almost exclusively by the sexually transmitted disease Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, the most common of the sexually transmitted viruses.
Women in their late teens to mid-thirties are at greatest risk for contracting the potentially fatal illness, but this cancer is preventable and treatable.
“The incidence rates of this cancer (in the U.S.) have steadily decreased over the past decades,” said a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. “Cervical cancer death rates have also decreased 74 percent from 1955 to 1992, and continue to decline two percent each year.”
Even so, the Cancer Society projects that 12,200 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2003 in the United States; four times that number of noninvasive cases will be diagnosed here this year.
Not everyone who contracts HPV will get the high-risk strains of the virus that can lead to cervical cancer.
Most abnormal growths, usually genital warts, are benign and come from the low risk varieties of HPV.
In fact, it is estimated that 75 percent of people who have been sexually active will get HPV at some point.
According to the National Cancer Institute, most HPV infections go away without ever showing symptoms.
But it may also take from a week to a year before symptoms of HPV may show up.
Because of the possibility of the virus causing a lesion or irregular cell growth on the cervix and developing over the years into cancer, regular screening is important.
Medical professionals advise women to receive their first Pap test three years after becoming sexually active or at age 21, whichever comes first.
The University’s student health center provides Pap tests and testing for STDs free of charge through the school’s student health insurance and all services are confidential, Denne said.
In a first-time visit to the health center for a Pap test or pelvic exam, it is a two- part process, she said.
The first visit includes viewing several short videos on the first pelvic exam, breast self-exams, STDs and birth control options.
Also, a short women’s health questionnaire, from a gynecological rather than general health standpoint, needs to be filled out.
A second appointment is then made for the actual test and results from the test are available within two weeks, Denne said.
Along with testing for HPV, the Pap test includes testing for gonorrhea and Chlamydia, two other STDs.
This is a recommended procedure by the American College Health Association, Denne said, which keeps in mind that women in the under 25 age group are under greater risk for such diseases.
Prevention comes through awareness of the possibilities, as Laura Morgan, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles said.
Planned Parenthood organizes community workers and peer educators to visit schools, community centers and homes to discuss prevention of STDs through reproduction education.
The ACS documents a near 100 percent survival rate for patients with the noninvasive cervical cancer if it is caught in the early stages.
The ACS states that invasive cervical cancer is still very treatable, with a 92 percent survival rate, if detection is made early through access to routine Pap tests and healthcare providers.
New technology will hopefully aid in making the screening process for HPV easier and less frequent.
One method is to take the sample cell and immerse it into a liquid that has a higher sensitivity for detecting a virus then the traditional laboratory slide test.
Another test is designed for women over the age of 30 who are less likely to get HPV.
It is a DNA test done along with the Pap test.
Even before testing, there are preventive measures that every sexually active woman should be aware of.
Cynthia Denne, health center director at the University of La Verne said that prevention is most effective when the risk factors are avoided.
“Women of all ages can protect themselves against HPV by limiting their number of sexual partners, by choosing partners who have had fewer sexual partners,” Denne said. “Remember, HPV does not always produce warts or other symptoms, so it’s hard to tell if someone is infected.”
Knowing the risk factors that can and cannot be controlled is helpful in understanding HPV and cervical cancer.
Women who smoke or are HIV positive are at greater risk for getting cervical cancer, said Denne.
Also economically disadvantaged women who cannot afford Pap tests tend to eat a less nutritious diet.
Eating more fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of some cancers.
Cervical cancer is one of the more treatable cancers. Still, it is the third most deadly cancer worldwide because of inadequate preventative care in many countries.
Some 200,000 women in developing countries die each year from cervical cancer, according to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition Web site.
Denne said factors that cannot be controlled are age risk goes up for women in their twenties, and race or ethnicity.
African Americans with cervical cancer are twice as likely to die from it.
Hispanics and American Indians also have death rates from the disease higher than average.
In the U.S., the incidence of African American women contracting cervical cancer is greater than the rate for Caucasian women, said the ACS.
Statistics show that 13.6 per 100,000 African American women will contract cervical cancer compared to 8.1 per 100,000 Caucasian women.
There is no evidence if the cancer targeting one ethnic group more than another is physiological, genetic, or due to socio-economics, said the ACS.
For more information on cervical cancer call the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345.
