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Last Updated: Aug 6th, 2008 - 09:50:39 |
Cervical Cancer
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast, and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. Cervical cancer is cancer in the cervix, the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus is the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows during a woman's pregnancy. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina (birth canal), which leads to the outside of the body.
Pap Tests for Older Women
As an older woman, this page can provide you with answers to commonly asked questions from older women about Pap tests, HPV, and the Medicare benefit for Pap test screening.
Pap Tests and Cervical Health: A Healthy Habit for You
Cervical cancer is largely preventable and curable with regular Pap tests and pelvic exams. This page provides answers to commonly asked questions about Pap tests, as well as comments from women who have had Pap tests and pelvic exams.
Cervix Uteri Cancer: U.S. Racial/Ethnic Cancer Patterns
Until the early 1970s, approximately 75% to 80% of cervical cancer in the United States was invasive at the time of diagnosis. Today, about 78% of cervical cancer cases are diagnosed at the in situ stage. Furthermore, both incidence and mortality for invasive cervical cancer have declined about 40% since the early 1970s. Mortality began declining just before the Papanicolaou screening test became widely utilized, however, leaving a dilemma as to the relationship between the Pap test and reductions in cervical cancer mortality. Around the world, cervical cancer is often the most common type of cancer among women.
The Pap Test
The Pap test (sometimes called a Pap smear) is a way to examine cells collected from the cervix (the lower, narrow end of the uterus). The main purpose of the Pap test is to find abnormal cell changes that may arise from cervical cancer or before cancer develops.
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