Despite the fact that there is a lot of awareness about cervical cancer screening and its easy accessibility, most women in India do not undergo screening for cervical cancer. And this is the reason why the cases of cervical cancer in India are diagnosed at an advanced stage, where it becomes difficult to treat. So to detect the cancer at an early stage and improve the chances of successful treatment, it is important to undergo cervical cancer screening. Before you plan to undergo the screening for cervical cancer, you must know these guidelines says Dr Lata Kini, Lead Clinical Pathologist, CORE Diagnostics.
1. The right age recommended for cervical cancer screening in women in the age group of 21 years to 65 years. This is because a majority of the woman diagnosed with the cancer fall under the age of 50. This does not mean that woman over the age of 65 years is not at risk for cervical cancer. However, there are very few cases reported in women over the age of 65 years.
2. You must bear in mind that cervical screening must start at the age of 21 years and should be performed every three years after that till you are 65 years of age as a measure to detect cervical cancer at an early stage.
3. If you are younger than 21 years of age, then it is not advised to undergo the screening even if you fall under the high-risk group. Read to know about the risk factors of cervical cancer. Even if you are sexually active but are under 21 years, undergoing the screening is discouraged as the incidence of cervical cancer in girls aged 15- to 19-years is very rare.
4. Starting at the age of 30 years, you can even get a combined Human Papilloma virus (HPV) test and a PAP test every five years to screen your risk of cervical cancer. If any abnormality is detected during the test, then it is recommended that the testing must continue for 20 years from the time of detection even while getting treated for the cancer.
5. The screening requires a doctor or a nurse to do the test. During the procedure, the expert takes exfoliated cells from the surface of the cervix, which are then tested under a microscope for early changes of cancer by a pathologist. Liquid based cytology (LBC) and PAP smear tests are the two common screening tests to detect cervical cancer. Both the tests are non-invasive and essentially painless and help to detect abnormal cell growth in the cervix before the cells turn cancerous. Here’s more on cervical cancer: Pap smear and other tests.
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