January is National Cervical Health Awareness Month

Incase you wanted to know what a cervix looks like, and what cervical cancer looks like, I checked it out myself.

Go get a pap smear and or the HPV vaccine.

Cervical cancer facts from Cervicalcancercampaign.org

Cervical cancer was once the number-one cause of death from cancer in women. Thanks to the Pap test, which can screen for this cancer, the number of women in the United States with cervical cancer has decreased dramatically. With the Pap test, doctors can also find changes in the cervix when they are still precancerous. It is the only gynecological cancer, currently, that can be prevented through routine screening.

Any woman can get cervical cancer, but it occurs more often in Hispanic and African-American women than in non-Hispanic white women. It also occurs most often in women between the ages of 35 and 55.

They also note that signs include

Symptoms usually do not show up until the cancer becomes invasive and grows into nearby tissue. The most common symptoms at this stage are:

• Unusual discharge from the vagina
• Blood spots or light bleeding when you're not having your period
• Bleeding after menopause
• Bleeding or pain during sex

Additional symptoms may occur. These include:

• Anemia because of abnormal vaginal bleeding.
• Ongoing pelvic, leg, or back pain.
• Urinary problems because of blockage of a kidney or ureter.
• Bleeding from the rectum or bladder.
• Weight loss.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center promotes Six Things You Should Know about Your Pap Test


1. Increased sexual activity equals increased need for a Pap test.
2. The HPV vaccine is a supplement to your Pap test, not a replacement.
3. You can afford a Pap test.
4. You have to prepare for an upcoming Pap test.
*Do not douche 48 hours before your appointment
*Avoid using vaginal medicines, spermicidal foams, creams or jellies 48 hours before your appointment
*Do not have sexual intercourse 48 hours before your appointment
*Reschedule your Pap test appointment if you have an unexpected heavy menstrual flow on the day of your exam

5. You are never too old to get a Pap test.
6. Before the Pap test was developed, cervical cancer was a leading cause of cancer death in American women.