How to reduce your daughter's risk of cervical cancer 

Cervical cancer can be prevented… You don’t hear bold statements like that very often when it comes to cancer, but it is true. Having a Pap test could save your daughter’s life.

Why is cervical cancer an issue for my daughter?

Cervical cancer was the third most diagnosed cancer for females aged 15-29*.  It occurs in the cells of the cervix. Before cancer develops, these cervical cells change and become abnormal or pre-cancerous. Although not yet cancer, these cells do have the ability to develop into cancer.

While having a Pap test is never going to top your daughter’s list of “favourite things to do”, having one is important because this screening test helps find early changes in the cervix before they develop into cancer.

Did you know that sex can lead to cervical cancer?

Although there is no single cause of cervical cancer, we know that risk factors such as the sexually transmitted Human Papilloma (pap-uh-LO-muh) Virus (HPV), causes pre-cancerous changes and most cervical cancers. HPVs are a group of viruses that live on the skin and can be easily passed from person to person through skin-to-skin contact (including sexual intercourse, genital skin-to-skin contact and oral sex). If your daughter has been sexually active, she’s likely been exposed to HPV at some point in her life. HPV infection is most common among younger women.

HPV infections usually go away without treatment, because the immune system gets rid of the virus. Only certain types of HPV can cause changes to cells in the cervix that may lead to cervical cancer.

Your daughter is at a higher risk for cervical cancer if she:

• doesn’t have regular Pap tests
• became sexually active at a young age
• smokes
• has used birth control pills for a long time (usually more than 5 years)

What you can do

As a parent you can help reduce your daughters’ risk, by learning about cervical cancer, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine and the Pap test.

* Source: Canadian Cancer Statistics, 2009