JANUARY IS CERVICAL
CANCER AWARENESS MONTH |
Cancer is the second leading cause of
death among women of all races in the United States, after heart
disease. Each year, about 15,000
women in the United States learn that they have cancer of the
cervix; in 2001, 4,092 women died from cervical
cancer. |
The burden of cancer is not distributed
equally—many racial and ethnic minority groups suffer from higher
incidence, higher mortality, and poorer survival rates than white
Americans. |
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EXAMPLES OF HEALTH
DISPARITIES RELATED TO CERVICAL CANCER |
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In 2001, black women had the highest age-adjusted
mortality rate from cervical cancer (4.8 per 100,000), followed by
Hispanic women (3.4 per 100,000). |
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From 1992-2000, African American women were less
likely to survive cervical cancer five years after diagnosis
compared with white women (African American: 62.6%; white: 73.3%)
(Health US, 2003, table 54). |
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In 2001, cervical cancer incidence was highest among
African American women (11.9 per 100,000) and Hispanic/Latina women (11.8 per 100,000). |
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Use of Pap test screening
may be as low as 43% in some Asian American and Pacific Islander
subgroups, compared to 95% among white women (table 9). |
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The highest age-adjusted incidence rate in the
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) areas occurs
among Vietnamese women (43 per 100,000). Their rate is 7.4 times the
lowest incidence rate, 5.8 per 100,000 in Japanese women. |
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PROMISING
INTERVENTION STRATEGIES |
When found and treated early, cervical
cancer often can be cured. |
A Pap test is used to find cell changes in
the cervix. It can find problems that can be treated before they
turn into cervical cancer. A Pap test also can find cancer early. If
cervical cancer is found early, it's easier to cure. The Pap test is
a simple, painless test to detect abnormal cells in and around the
cervix; it can be done in a doctor’s office or a health clinic. If
all women had pelvic exams and
Pap tests regularly, most precancerous conditions would be
detected and treated before cancer develops. That way, most invasive
cancers could be prevented. Any invasive cancer that does occur
would likely be found at an early, curable stage. |
The creation of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer
Early Detection Program, which in 1990 started providing cancer
screening services to underserved women, substantially increased the
percentage of women in low-income households who reported having had
a recent mammogram (CDC, 2001a). Eighty percent of White women had
had a Pap test within 3 years as of 1998 (NCHS, 2000), similar to
the rates for African American, Cuban American, Puerto Rican,
American Indian, and Native Hawaiian women. Lesser use of Pap tests
was found among Alaska Natives, American Samoans, Mexican Americans,
and some Asian American groups. |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) |
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NCCDPHP Cancer Prevention and
Control |
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National Breast
& Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program |
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Cervical
Cancer & Pap Test Information |
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Cervical Cancer & Specific Populations |
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NCI
Cervical Cancer Home Page |
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National
Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) |
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NCI
Cancer Facts: Human Papillomaviruses
& Cancer |
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National Women’s Health Information
Network |
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American Cancer
Society |
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All About Cervical Cancer |