Straight Talk about Pelvic Prolapse
DEC 05, 2023Often, women don’t speak up or suffer in silence, but pelvic prolapse can often be managed conservatively for years, but surgery is also an option if needed.
Read MoreWomen shouldn’t have to die from cervical cancer and it is preventable – if you take action. For a physician, that’s the best possible news, we have the tools we need to help women protect themselves.
Getting women to take advantage of those tools is our challenge. A study published in the Journal of Women's Health found that just over half of U.S. women age 21 to 29 and less than two-thirds of women age 30 to 65 were up-to-date with cervical cancer screenings. It’s, in the words of the researchers’ report, “unacceptably low.”
It may be that women just don’t know what they need to do, or why. As poet Maya Angelou famously said, “when you know better, do better.”
We know better about cervical cancer, and we can do better.
If you haven’t heard of human papillomavirus, or HPV, you may be surprised to find out it’s extremely common. At any time, there are approximately 79 million people in the U.S. with HPV.
An infected person usually has no visible signs or noticeable symptoms of the virus. Most HPV infections resolve on their own, but lasting HPV infections can cause genital warts or certain kinds of cancer, particularly cervical cancer. Skin-to-skin contact passes the virus, and while condoms lower your risk of getting HPV, they do not fully protect against HPV.
That’s why detection is essential. Women are recommended to undergo a routine screening every three years with a Pap test and every five years with a Pap-HPV co-test.
Prevention via vaccination is also very strongly recommended. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all girls and boys get the HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12. That’s because the vaccine produces a stronger immune response when taken during the preteen years.
As a physician, I’m urging you do take action against cervical cancer – for yourself and for your children. Together, we can make cervical cancer a thing of the past.
Original Published Date: Jan. 31, 2019
Revised Date: Jan. 20, 2020
Often, women don’t speak up or suffer in silence, but pelvic prolapse can often be managed conservatively for years, but surgery is also an option if needed.
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