Cervical cancer is so easily preventable that awareness on the subject and convincing women to take the regular Pap tests have become vital factors in fighting the disease. Incidence has already dropped exponentially ever since the start with using Pap screenings but there are still women that leave displasya untreated or defy cervical cancer risk factors. These can be deadly if treated with indifference or ignorance. This is why governance has been trying to play their part in educating the people and their strategy includes declaring January the national cervical cancer awareness month. During this month women are encouraged to tend to their cervical cancer prevention needs and are bombarded with information about HPV, the importance of early detection, treatment options, risk factors and overall prevention methods. Recent advances and more research in treatment and diagnosis are issues the US Congress has called on doctors and institutions to promote more intensely alongside encouraging women to get the Pap smear or consider the HPV vaccine for younger women and girls.

Personal stories about fighting and overcoming the disease are brought to the attention of women nationwide and reports on regional success on early detection or treatment programs are expected to be added to the whole campaign. This strategy is very effective since women are more likely to simply take the test in a month where she is told to do it from all sides.



The number of women in the US who develop cervical cancer each year is still as high as 11,000 women. About 4,000 cases from these result in death. Cervical cancer is far from being a resolved cancer issue and more effort in the direction of improving awareness can mean even a few thousands cases less. This information should reach women of all ages and classes and screening methods in January should be cheaper. For low-income family women, uninsured and underserved women there are already special programs through which they can appply for free screening. The only thing that stands in between women and safety against cancer is that first impulse that gets them to schedule themselves for a Pap test.

Cervical cancer is a serious disease and can even affect the woman's ability to have children. This can be prevented even just by having a healthy lifestyle, by having protected sex, by choosing for one partner instead of multiple sex partners and by undergoing the Pap screening of course. Vaccines against the sexually transmitted HPV virus found in 90% of cervical cancer cases are also a good option. Gardasil and Cervarix are vaccines that fight against HPV 16 and 18 strains, which are most likely to lead to displasya and eventually cervical cancer.



All these are things that require the minimum of attention that can make women take the Pap test and treat their health and that of those around more responsibly. Having a national cervical cancer awareness month can contribute greatly to focusing just enough public attention on the subject to make it a integrated part of the lives of all American women.