This month is Cervical Health Awareness month, a time to raise awareness of the importance of proper cervical health care. According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, more than 14,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer each year, which is why it is important get regular screenings, starting at age 21, detect the disease early.
The CDC states that “two tests help prevent cervical cancer or find it early—
- The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for precancers, which are cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if they are not treated appropriately.
- The human papillomavirus (HPV) test looks for the virus that can cause these cell changes.”
The HPV vaccine also protects against HPV strains that most often cause cervical cancers. HPV can also cause other kinds of cancer.
We want to highlight some resources available at the library to help empower people with cervical health information. Stop by and check one out, or place a hold on any of these titles by following the corresponding link:
- Cervical Cancer by Kris Hirschmann
- Cervical cancer [videorecording]
- To Joey, with love : a story of life, love & hope that never dies [videorecording]
- Understanding cervical changes : a health guide for women [electronic book] by the National Cancer Institute
