How Preventive Exams Are Used to Detect Cervical Cancer in Women

We’ve all heard the old proverb: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Translated, it simply means catching health issues early is best. Many preventive services covered under your health plan help you do just that.

Three preventive services specifically for women covered by health insurance are the pap smear, pelvic exam and the human papillomavirus (HPV) test. Each of them plays an important role in keeping you healthy by looking for abnormal cells before they turn into a more serious condition like cervical cancer.

What is a Pap Smear?

The pap smear is a routine outpatient cervical cancer screening that women have been getting for decades. It’s recommended that women start getting Pap smears at 21 years old. Pap is short for Papanicolaou – the last name of the doctor who studied changes in cervical cells in the 1900s.

The Pap test looks for changes in the cervix that may lead to cancer. Routine Pap smears are encouraged to find cancer early when it’s easier to treat. During the short procedure, your doctor collects cells and mucus from your cervix and the surrounding areas. The samples are sent to a laboratory for review by a pathologist.

It may take a few weeks to get results back. Once the results do come back, your doctor will contact you to let you know if your Pap smear was normal or abnormal.      

An abnormal Pap smear doesn’t mean you have cervical cancer. There are a number of reasons results can come back abnormal. Be sure to follow up with your doctor to learn more about next steps.

How to prepare for a Pap Smear

A few tips can help ensure nothing skews the results of your pap smear.

• Try not to schedule your Pap smear during your menstrual cycle.

• Do not have sex for two days before the test.

• Do not douche for two days before the test.

• Do not use birth control foams, jellies, tampons, vaginal creams or medicines for two days before the test.

What is HPV?

For women 30 or older, the HPV test can be done at the same time as the Pap test. The human papilloma virus is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer cases in the United States. There are many types of HPV, and it’s the most common sexually transmitted infection in the nation.

During an HPV test, your doctor checks the cervix for the HPV virus. The virus can cause abnormal cells, which could lead to cervical cancer. It’s not likely that you’ll know when cervix cells have changed. Having regular preventive exams can help your doctor identify abnormal cells before they develop into cancerous cells.

Doctors don’t always test for HPV when you have a Pap smear. Ask your doctor which tests are included in your routine Pap smear and when you’ll receive your test results.

What is a Pelvic Exam?

Pelvic exams look for signs of disease in the pelvic area. Doctors use pelvic exams to check your:

• Cervix

• Fallopian tubes

• Ovaries

• Rectum

• Uterus

• Vulva

Remember, Pap smears and pelvic exams check for different things. They can be done separately or at the same time by an OB/GYN. Your routine pelvic exam is also covered by your health insurance.

What is Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer affects more than 14,000 women yearly in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines cancer as a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. In this case, cells near the cervix grow out of control.

Cervical cancer starts in the cells lining the cervix, which is the lower, narrow end of a woman’s uterus. It is a preventable disease if women have routine screenings and receive the HPV vaccines.  

The American Cancer Society suggests women have regular health screenings to detect pre-cancers and abnormal cells before they become cancerous. Tests like the Pap and HPV tests are proven methods that help doctors find abnormal cells.

Cervical Cancer Risk Factors

There are several factors that contribute boost a woman’s risk for cervical cancer.

HPV infection. Women carrying the human papillomavirus have a higher risk for developing cervical cancer. HPV infections are spread through sexual contact.

Not everyone infected with HPV will keep the virus. A strong immune system can fight it off. Only a very small portion of women infected with HPV develop cervical cancer. In the United States, high-risk HPV types cause approximately three percent of all cancer cases among women. 

Weak immune system. Immunosuppression increases the risk that HPV will lead to cervical cancer. When the immune system is weak, it’s difficult for the body to fight infections like HPV and other diseases. HIV and medicines that prevent organ rejection after a transplant can cause immunosuppression. 

DES exposure. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic form of the estrogen hormone. The drug was prescribed to women to prevent pregnancy complications between 1940 and 1971. Diethylstilbestrol was later linked to cancer of the cervix and vagina in a small group of women.

While the drug is no longer prescribed, the daughters of women exposed from 1940 to 1971 have an increased risk of developing a rare form of cancer.

Women with HPV

There are other risk factors for women who already carry the HPV virus. Women with the HPV virus boost their risk for developing cervical cancer if they have seven or more full-term pregnancies, smoke or use oral contraceptives for long periods of time.

Can Cervical Cancer be Prevented?

The National Cancer Institute lists several precautions women can take to lower their risk for cervical cancer. The type of HPV that leads to cervical cancer is transmitted through sexual contact. Women lower their chances of getting HPV when they:

• Get the HPV vaccine

• Use a condom or diaphragm

For more information on health insurance or healthy tips, visit us through Healthedly Insurance Services to learn more.

 

American Red Cross blood crisis: How can we help?

As of January 14, 2022, 68% of blood centers in the U.S. have under 3 days of blood supply which is the minimum necessary to meet regular demand.

Under normal circumstances, the Red Cross supplies 40% of the U.S.’s national blood supply that hospitals use. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has seen a 10% decline in the number of people donating blood.

To solve this shortage, the Red Cross is raising awareness and urging individuals to donate blood. “All types are needed now, especially types O positive and O negative, as well as platelet donations, to help reverse this national blood crisis,” wrote the American Red Cross in a press release.

If there is not an immediate opportunity available to donate, donors are asked to make an appointment in the days and weeks ahead to ensure the Red Cross can replenish and maintain a sufficient blood supply. Blood cannot be manufactured, and there is no alternative treatment for blood transfusion. It is therefore crucial for people to donate blood to save lives.

One unit of blood is equal to 500 milliliters. The American Red Cross predicts that 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed daily in the U.S. While the average red blood cell transfusion is around three units, a car accident victim may require as many as 100 units of blood. However, not everyone has been equally affected by the nationwide blood shortage.

During the initial phase of the pandemic in the U.S, the blood supply decreased, but our use decreased concurrently as elective and non urgent surgeries were canceled across the country. As these surgeries resumed, blood collection centers were unable to keep up with the demand.

Doctors said that one of the major reasons blood collection centers have been unable to keep up with the demand is that many of the ways in which people used to give blood, such as through community blood drives or pop-up sites at large gatherings, have been curtailed or canceled due to continued COVID-19-related restrictions.

Despite some loosening of these restrictions in various parts of the country, the repeated surges of COVID-19 disease related to the variants have continued to depress donations. Many hospitals and other organizations are sponsoring blood drives, but the return on these is also decreasing, meaning successive blood drives are not garnering the same amount of donations as they did in the past.

For more information on health insurance or healthy tips, visit us through Healthedly Insurance Services to learn more.

 

MS: How can we diagnose it earlier?

For decades, MRI has played a central role in the diagnosis and tracking of MS. It has been invaluable for revealing the macroscopic, telltale lesions in the brain and spinal cord that signify the presence of MS. However, it cannot capture more subtle clues, particularly in the brain’s white matter and cortical gray matter.

According to a small new study, a more advanced, powerful form of imaging reveals two metabolic indications of MS in white matter and gray matter that appear normal. 

The authors hope that such advanced imaging techniques can lead to earlier detection and treatment of MS. Starting treatment with immune-modulatory drugs earlier may have significant benefits for people with the condition.

Advanced imaging adds on to the evidence that disease activity in MS can be detected in the normal-appearing white matter early by utilizing newer neuroimaging techniques, using high strength magnets and employing the use of certain metabolic tracers. Metabolic tracers mimic the metabolites of interest and help track their fate during imaging.

Typical MRI devices use 1.5T magnets or 3.0T magnets, meaning that those used in the study are more than twice as strong. The images produced for the study used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), a technique that can noninvasively image a variety of brain metabolites.

A new study found two metabolites to use as MS tracers: N-acetylaspartate, an amino acid derivative, and myo-inositol, which is involved in cell signaling. In people with MS disabilities, the researchers found a lower ratio of N-acetylaspartate to creatinine, suggesting an impairment of neurons.

In all the people with MS, with or without disabilities, the researchers found elevated levels of myo-inositol compared with creatine in normal-appearing white matter regions. This, they explain, suggests inflammatory activity.

Don’t forget that it’s never too late to enroll with Healthedly Insurance Services for your life insurance.