January is Cervical Health Awareness Month (some organizations also recognize this as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month). Be on the lookout for news from us about cervical health throughout the month of January. Learn more about cervical cancer.
Feature story
A possible cervical cancer screening tool? A menstrual pad.
SUNDAY, January 2, 2022 (The Washington Post) Speculums. Stirrups. Paper gowns. Human papillomavirus screening via a Pap smear can range from inconvenient to humiliating. But in the future, a new study suggests, cervical cancer screening could be as easy as wearing a sanitary pad.
Research published in JAMA Network Open suggests that testing menstrual blood is as accurate as conventional HPV screening — and better at identifying negatives and identifying certain subtypes of HPV than commonly used testing methods.
In other news…
Hockey Fan Spots Cancerous Mole at Game and Delivers a Lifesaving Note
January 2, The New York Times
Blood test could help detect cancer in people with nonspecific symptoms
January 4, The Guardian
Quitting Smoking Ups Survival After Lung Cancer Diagnosis
January 5, U.S. News & World Report
This new ovarian cancer treatment could improve survival rates
January 5, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Foundation news
Cervical Health Awareness Month calls attention to women’s health and gynecologic screenings
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month as designated by the United States Congress. (Some organizations also recognize this as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month). Each year, more than 13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer—cancer that has spread from the surface of the cervix to tissue deeper in the cervix or to other body parts—and more than 4,200 die from the disease.
But an August 2021 survey released by Prevent Cancer Foundation® indicates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased hesitation among women to attend routine, potentially lifesaving cancer screenings.
