A doctor from Johns Hopkins Medicine who observes Cervical Health Awareness Month wants to stress the importance of gynecological examinations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in people seeking preventative health care, but a Johns Hopkins Medicine doctor stressed the importance of gynecological examinations during January’s Cervical Health Awareness Month.
Cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the US, but this has changed in recent decades, mainly due to regular Pap tests.
‘The combined impact of two interventions, vaccine and screening, has led to a drastic reduction in cervical cancer in our country and a real opportunity for women to be empowered to look after their own health and well-being – which is very exciting for those of us who care for women every day, ”said Dr. Stephanie Wethington, director of the Susan L. Burgert MD Gynecologic Oncology Survivorship Program.
“We’ve updated what we consider to be ‘Pap smear,'” Wethington said.
The procedure now usually involves examining cervical cells under a microscope and testing the human papillomavirus, or in some cases only testing HPV alone.
HPV is transmitted between people through skin-to-skin contact and is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It can lead to cancer of the cervix, anus, head and neck. But the HPV vaccine protects against it.
The vaccine is now recommended for boys and girls, and men and women, from 9 to 45 years.
Wethington said HPV is ‘very, very common’.
“The vast majority of American men and women have been exposed to HPV at some point in their lives,” she said. “And this is where the benefit of the vaccine comes from – because no one is immune to the potential for exposure.”
Many of the more than 100 types of HPV can be transmitted through sexual contact. Many people have HPV and do not know it, which means they can unknowingly transmit it to their partners.
‘One of the questions I often get from individuals is about the fact that they have been with their partner for a long time and that they may not need it. “What we do not know is past exposure and also what may change in the future,” said Wethington.
The American Sexual Health Association is hosting a “Us vs. HPV” webinar from January 25 to 29 between 12 and 13 p.m.
“More than 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, which in fact becomes all the more frustrating because the disease is virtually always preventable with vaccination and appropriate examinations,” the group’s website reads.
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