January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

As we approach the end of the month, it is important to acknowledge that January is Cervical Health Awareness Month.

Every year about 11,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 4,000 American women die of the disease. Fortunately, it is preventable.

Planned Parenthood is working diligently to increase access to preventive health care services that can protect women from cervical cancer, such as regular Pap screenings and HPV vaccination.

Last year, Planned Parenthood affiliates provided more than one million women with cervical cancer screenings to help them prevent the disease. A growing number of Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide offer the HPV vaccine, which protects women from the two most common forms of HPV, which cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. Planned Parenthood routinely educates patients and the community about the importance of regular condom use, which also significantly reduces the risk of contracting HPV.

Find more information about cervical health and how to protect yourself here: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/std-hiv/HPV-vaccine/articles/national-cervical-cancer-screening-month.htm