Quick Facts about HPV and Cervical Cancer

January is almost over. After all the awareness campaigning and posts by multiple organizations, how much more do you know about cervical cancer or HPV?

In case you’re still a bit confused, below is a list of general facts about HPV and cervical cancer.

• It is estimated that 20 million Americans currently carry the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted virus that leads to cervical cancer.
• About 12,000 women in the U.S. are prone to cervical cancer each year.
• It is preventable if detected early, and the rate of cure is very high.
• It usually occurs in midlife
• It is not common among younger women and girls, but does happen.
• More than 20 percent of cases are found in women over 65.
• Hispanic women are more prone to it, followed by African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Caucasians.
• The Pap test detects pre-cancerous cells and cancerous cells in the cervix.
• An HPV vaccination program is recommended for 11- 26-year-olds. 
• In addition to having HPV, other factors that may increase chances of contracting cervical cancer are smoking, having HIV, using birth control pills for a long time, or giving birth to at least three children.
• Once diagnosed with cervical cancer, patients should ask for a reference to a gynecologic oncologist, who will frame the treatment plan.
• A colonoscopy or a cervical biopsy may be advised to study the cervix closely.

Follow this link for more information. 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Facts

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Cervical cancer is one of the easiest cancers to detect if a woman has yearly pelvic exams and Pap smears. It can often be successfully treated when it’s caught early.

But what is it?

Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells on the cervix grow out of control. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina. Cervical cancer can often be successfully treated when it's found early. It is usually found at a very early stage through a Pap test. 

What causes cervical cancer?Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. You can get HPV by having sexual contact with someone who has it. There are many types of the HPV virus. Not all types of HPV cause cervical cancer. Some of them cause genital warts, but other types may not cause any symptoms. 

You can have HPV for years and not know it. It stays in your body and can lead to cervical cancer years after you were infected. This is why it is important for you to have regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in cervical cells before they turn into cancer. If you treat these cell changes, you may prevent cervical cancer. 

What are the symptoms?Abnormal cervical cell changes rarely cause symptoms. But you may have symptoms if those cell changes grow into cervical cancer. Symptoms of cervical cancer may include:

• Bleeding from the vagina that is not normal, or a change in your menstrual cycle that you can't explain.
• Bleeding when something comes in contact with your cervix, such as during sex or when you put in a diaphragm.
• Pain during sex.
• Vaginal discharge that is tinged with blood. 

How is it treated?The treatment for most stages of cervical cancer includes:

• Surgery, such as a hysterectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes with or without removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes.
• Chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy.

The more you know about it, the more you can be aware and keep tabs on yourself. Trust what your body is trying to tell you and get checked by a doctor regularly. “… Knowing is half the battle.”

Follow this link for more information. 

My Wonderful Nightmare

Erin Higgins was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 31 years old. During the next two and a half years, she kept journals and worked with holistic health practitioner Alma Lightbody. After her death, Lightbody followed Higgins’ wishes and compiled the journals into the new memoir “My Wonderful Nightmare: Spiritual Journals Inspired by Cancer.”

Readers will discover with Higgins her shocking cancer diagnosis and face with her the questions about her very existence. Readers will also see Higgins’ arguments with herself about her spirituality and her life.

An excerpt from “My Wonderful Nightmare”:

“We’ve never been taught to listen to our body and it’s tragic. I somehow knew the results of the surgery before they told me. If I had been more in tune with my body I would have known earlier. I hadn’t paid attention and didn’t know how.”

“There is a lot to learn about life and death and everything in between,” Lightbody says. “Many people never reach the depth of inner understanding that Erin shares as she faces the beast head-on.”

“My Wonderful Nightmare”
By Erin Higgins & Alma Lightbody
Trafford Publishing

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 196 pages | ISBN 9781425187255
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Follow this link to read more about it. 

PapGene Test for Ovarian Cancer Detection

News about a Pap smear test to detect ovarian cancer has spread quickly across the internet in the last couple days. Researchers from John Hopkins published the study about it in Science Translational Medicine.

But what does this actually mean?

A pap smear occurs during a woman’s yearly gynecological pelvic exams. Usually, pap smears are performed to detect irregular cells and potential cervical cancer. The doctor or nurse practitioner scrapes a little brush across the cervix to collect cells, which are stored in a vial to be examined under a microscope. The Pap Smear is no longer a smear these days, but is a liquid-based test to check DNA for the HPV virus, which can cause cervical cancer.

So how can this help to detect the elusive ovarian cancer?

Apparently cells flake off ovarian tumors or the uterus’s lining. They float down to rest in the cervix. Although they’re also too rare to recognize under a microscope, they can’t escape a DNA test. Detected gene mutations reveal that cancer is present. This test is called the PapGene, which is named after Georgios Papanicolaou, who revealed his “Pap” smear in 1943. The test costs about $100 right now. If it becomes mass produced for commercial use, it would become cheaper.

That is more good news for us.

Being able to detect ovarian and other endometrial cancers early is a great achievement because over 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. Of that number, more than 15,000 die.

However, there’s a little hiccup.

Because the discovery is still in an early stage of research, we can’t expect any immediate changes to our yearly exams. It will take years of additional testing to prove the findings. The next step is to test it on hundreds of women—both with and without cancer diagnoses—instead of the dozens that the initial study used.

Keep your fingers crossed.

References:

1 - http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-pap-test-for-ovarian-cancer-scientists-retool-cervical-cancer-test-to-hunt-other-tumors/2013/01/09/f8c2b694-5a8d-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html

2 - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50410889/ns/health-cancer/#.UPAmMeRbaSo

Beautiful and Empowering Folk Art

Some days, we need something to make us smile. Something to lighten our moods. Something we can get to help ourselves and others. J. C. Spock does just that with her art collection on Etsy. Check out her amazing artwork below, and be sure to visit her site.

On her Etsy page, she writes:

I have collaborated with FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) and am working with them on a national fundraising effort and various projects (resulting in over $5K donated in free/discounted product). I have also donated over $650 from your purchases of Brave Girl, Sisterhood Girls and Empowered Girls merchandise since Sept. 2010. Thank you for your support!!