Jana Pit tman’s HEALTH WORDS OF WISDOM
IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE CERVICAL SCREENING
The Pap smear is one of the most dreaded exams in gynaecology. It’s changed names over the years from Pap smear, to Pap test to most recently the Cervical Screening Test (CST) but despite its new name, it still has many women cringing and finding excuses to avoid it.
PROTECTING YOUR CERVIX
A CST is so important! Our cervix is amazing, but many of us don’t even know what it does or what causes abnormalities. Your cervix helps prevent infection, produces mucus, and helps keep your baby inside during pregnancy. This multifunctional little part of you needs a little TLC to keep your overall reproductive system functioning optimally.
WHAT CERVICAL SCREENING LOOKS FOR
We now know that a pesky virus called the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for nearly all cervical cancers. There are over 100 strains, but 14 are linked with higher rates of cancer. Yes, they are sexually transmitted, but we don’t put it in the normal ‘STI’ basket, as while most people clear it within two years, it can live in your system for more than a decade before it creates issues.
The World Health Organisation states most sexually active women and men will be infected at some point in their lives! Also, it does not require penetrative sex, even skin-to-skin genital contact is enough for the virus to jump ship to another person. I like to think of it as the common cold of the vagina! But for those cases where it doesn’t clear, HPV can cause a little havoc from low-grade to high-grade changes (all pre-cancerous), through to invasive cervical cancer. All women aged 25 to 74 should have a regular five-yearly CST.
SYMPTOMS TO LOOK INTO
Now for the symptoms you can’t ignore! Pain or bleeding during sex, bleeding between periods (or after menopause), abnormal discharge (smelly or unusual colour) or pelvic pain. If you are experiencing any of these, even if your
CST is up to date or you’re not in the age range, go and see your doctor to double-check your cervix!
I vividly remember meeting my first patient dying of cervical cancer – she was in her mid-30s, had her own little girl and was going home the next day to die peacefully among her loved ones. She had never had a CST prior to the one where she was told it was cancer.
Worldwide, around 300,000 women die of cervical cancer each year, but in Australia because of our HPV vaccination program and screening, we might eradicate it by 2030. I have had more than 10 CST exams and two scares with high-grade changes, needing treatment. The CST saved my life. So be brave and book a date with your cervix!