ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — Each year, 14,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer according to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition. Advocates have dedicated the month of January to amplify the importance of the topic.
The 31 days of Cervical Health Awareness Month aim to bring attention to education about screenings, vaccinations and overall ways to treat the very preventable disease of cervical cancer.
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals Kentucky ranks in the top 11 states for the worst rates of cervical cancer, with 206 cases reported in 2019.
“Especially in the early stages, there could be no symptoms at all, but as it progresses and the timeline from early cervical cell changes to invasive cancer can be as long as 15 years,” said Lee Ann Mitchell, a nurse practitioner at Baptist Health Elizabethtown.
Mitchell said since the disease is silent, screenings are recommended starting at age 21. After that, depending on a woman’s age, results could determine how often they need additional screenings to happen. Mitchell recommends children as young as 11 get the human papillomavirus vaccination, which prevents cervical cancer.
“It’s typically given at a young adolescent age, 11 or 12, as they’re getting ready to go into middle school. It can also be available for women up to age 45 for higher-risk women depending on a conversation with your physician,” said Mitchell.
“STDs have been reduced. There is a marked reduction in cervical cancer being diagnosed because of this vaccine specifically, so that’s the first thing we do. We try to teach parents to put this in the regime so we can start protecting early,” said Amy Steinkuhl with the Kentucky Cancer Program.
Steinkuhl, who works as a regional cancer control specialist in Lexington, says putting cervical health on the back burner isn’t worth it.
“Putting your health behind everything else, all that does is create a domino effect,” Steinkuhl said. “Because we have to take care of our bodies and maintain our bodies so we can have the life that we’re dreaming for ourselves and our children.”
Both physicians recommend resources like the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Human Services’ Women’s Cancer Screening Program. It provides no-cost cervical and breast cancer screenings through local health departments. You can click here for that resource.