More than 12,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and a little over 4,000 of these women will die from cervical cancer (National Cancer Institute, 2016). HPV or the Human Papillomavirus is a major cause of cervical cancer. About 79 million Americans currently have HPV (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016) . Many do not even know. Most women who have HPV infection will not develop cervical cancer, it is still important to take precautions.
The good news?
- HPV infection can be prevented by the HPV Vaccine.
- Cervical cancer often prevented with regular pap tests.
In the honor of the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Cape Atlantic Coalition for Hea
lth in association with the New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection program in Atlantic and Cape May counties encourages:
- Women to start getting regular Pap tests at age 21.
- Women to get the HPV vaccine before age 26.
- Both girl and boy pre-teens should get the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12.
If you are uninsured with limited income, you may be eligible for a free pap test. The New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program offers FREE breast, cervical, colorectal and/or prostate cancer screenings. Early detection is the best protection!
For more information, please call:
Atlantic County: 609-653-3484
Cape May County: 609-465-1200
Other Counties: 1-800-328-3838
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