There are things you can do every day to help avoid getting cancer. Two of the most important things you can do are making healthy choices and getting the right screening tests for you, such as mammograms and pap smears. Make Healthy Choices Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to lower your cancer risk. Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. If you don’t smoke, make sure you stay away from other people’s smoke. Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun or artificial sources like a tanning bed, booth, or sunlamp can cause skin cancer, the most common cancer. Drinking alcohol raise ..read more

Let’s start with the simple truth that a Pap test can save your life. Getting a Pap test (or Pap smear) is one of the best things you can do to prevent cervical cancer, which is very curable when found early. Besides being one of the best tools to detect hidden, small tumors that may lead to cervical cancer, it’s simple and quick. Most health insurance plans cover Pap tests or cervical cancer screening at no cost to you. So what is it? A Pap test takes a sample of cells from a woman’s cervix or vagina. It’s not painful, but may be a little uncomfortable when the doctor uses a speculum to widen ..read more

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cervix cells, the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cervical cancer. How Does Cervical Cancer Start? Cervical cancer begins when healthy cells in the cervix develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. Healthy cells grow, multiply and die at a set rate. The mutations tell the cells to grow and multiply ..read more

It’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So let’s talk about the risks that women face. There are many things that can affect your chances of getting cancer. Most take years to develop. While you can’t control some risk factors, like getting older, you can control several others. Raising Cancer Awareness There are things you can do every day to avoid getting cancer. Two of the most important things you can do are making healthy choices and getting the right screening tests. Make Healthy Choices Avoid tobacco – Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to lower your cancer risk. Smoking can ..read more

In a shocking, recently reported statistic, 45% of U.S. citizens, aged 18-59, are infected with genital HPV, or human papillomavirus. Nearly all individuals who are sexually active will get infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV) at some time in their life. Some HPV types are considered lower risk and cause genital warts. Other types are higher risk, causing cancer in different areas of the body including the cervix and vagina, penis, and anus and oropharynx (base of the tongue and tonsils). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the high-risk genital HPV occur ..read more

Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That is especially true in regards to mammograms and pap smears. Breast and cervical cancer are easier to treat when they are detected early. Mammograms and Pap smears can spot cancer before any other symptoms have developed. The American Cancer Society recommends the following screening guidelines for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer. For Breast Cancer: Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health. A clinical breast exam (CBE) about e ..read more