Health Plan of San Joaquin | Focus Your Health | Spring 2019

Focus Your Health 5 Cervical cancer: Take steps to prevent it HealthReach 2309 The most important thing to know about cervical cancer may be this: It’s largely pre- ventable. Here’s a look at how to protect yourself—or your daughter—from a disease that kills more than 4,000 women every year. Get screened A Pap test can find pre-can- cerous changes in the cells of the cervix that can be treated before they have the chance to turn into cancer. Most cases of cervical cancer are found in women who haven’t had regu- lar Pap tests. Your doctor may also advise testing for the human papil- lomavirus (HPV). This sexually spread infection is to blame for HealthReach 1107 most cases of cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society advises the following cervi- cal cancer and HPV screening schedule if you’re: ● ● 21 to 39 years old: Get a Pap test every three years. ● ● 30 to 65 years old: Get a Pap test and an HPV test every five years or a Pap test alone every three years. ● ● Over 65 years old: Stop testing if you’ve had regular test results for the past 10 years and no aggressive pre-cancers in the past 20 years. Get vaccinated Still another powerful way to prevent cervical cancer is the HPV vaccine. In addition to protecting against cervical cancer, it helps prevent: ● ● Cancers of the vagina and vulva in women ● ● Cancer of the penis in men ● ● Cancers of the anus, tongue, tonsils and back of the throat in both men and women Given in a series of shots, the HPV vaccine is advised for all preteen boys and girls ages 11 to 12. Catch-up vaccines are typically given through age 21 for men and 26 for women. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine for men and women through age 45. Sources: American Cancer Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Food and Drug Administration should see a doctor right away: ● ● A lump. Cancerous breast lumps tend to be hard, painless and irregular (rather than rounded) around the edges. ● ● Swelling of all or part of a breast—or sometimes in the armpit or collarbone area— even if you can’t feel a lump. ● ● Irritated or dimpled breast skin. ● ● Breast or nipple pain. ● ● A nipple that points inward. ● ● Red, scaly or thickening nipple or breast skin. ● ● Nipple discharge, which may be bloody or clear. Any of these signs and symp- toms, including lumps, can be caused by things other than cancer. But only a doctor can tell for sure. What happens next? If you have a lump or breast change, your doctor will exam- ine your breasts. He or she may also order tests to take a closer look. These may include a diagnostic mammogram, which is just like having a screening mammogram except more x-rays are taken; a breast ultrasound, which uses sound waves to create an image of the inside of the breast; or a biopsy to check a sample of breast tis- sue for cancer. It’s important to remember that breast changes are very common, and most are not cancer. But it’s crucial to get any follow-up tests your doctor orders. Sources: American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute