NJ Officials Push For Cervical Cancer Screenings [AUDIO]

It’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and officials in New Jersey are urging all sexually active women to have routine screenings for the preventable disease. About 390 cases of Cervical Cancer are expected to be diagnosed in New Jersey this year alone and more than 12,000 cases will be diagnosed nationwide.

“We are making strides in fighting this preventable disease, but women need to continue getting their routine screenings which should include a pelvic exam and pap smear once a year,” said Dr. Arnold Baskies, Chairman of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey. “Those exams should begin about three years after a woman first has intercourse.”

The primary cause of cervical cancer is infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). There are now two vaccines approved for the prevention of the most common types of HPV. Gardasil is recommended for use in females 9 to 26 years of age and Cervarix in females between 9 and 25. Gardasil is also approved for use in males 9 to 26 years of age to prevent anal cancer.

“We strongly advocate the vaccines in both girls and boys. The same virus that causes cervical cancer in girls and women can cause anal cancer in boys and men,” said Baskies.

Since 2004, rates have decreased 2.1% per year for women younger than 50 and by 3.1% per year in women 50 and older.