HPV and Cervical Cancer Myths
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MYTH: Now that an HPV vaccine has been developed, women don't need to worry about getting tested for the virus. While the availability of HPV vaccine is great news, the protection it offers is not complete. Girls and young women who are not yet sexually active will most benefit from the new HPV vaccine. However, because it targets just two of more than a dozen types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer, they will still need to be screened regularly when they are older. For mature women - those who are already sexually active and thus likely have been exposed to the targeted types of HPV - the data available today do not indicate any substantial benefit from the vaccine. That means that for the vast majority of women today, and for many in the future, regular screening is their first and primary weapon against this disease.
For more information about HPV & cervical cancer, Click here.
Created: 7/25/2006 - Donnica Moore, M.D.
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 Cervical cancer is preventable in most cases, making it one of the first potential "wins" in the battle against cancer. 
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