GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, a time to recognize a common cancer for women. ECU Health officials say cervical cancer is curable when caught and treated early.
ECU Health medical experts said vaccinations and screenings protect women from this deadly disease. Dr. Khilen Patel, a physician at ECU Health’s Cancer Center, said roughly 13,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year, and this form of cancer causes around 4,000 deaths annually.
Patel added the numbers are high in Eastern North Carolina, and the disease impacts minority groups and those without access to healthcare the most.
“A simple speculum examination once a year or a visit to their primary care doctor or gynecologist. A lot of people have a lot of stigmas about it because it is HPV-driven, which is technically sexually transmitted. There’s just that thought behind it, which is unfortunate because we have screening tests for it,” Patel said.
ECU Health doctors said signs could include abnormal vaginal bleeding and pelvic or back pain. It is recommended for people to start screenings at the age of 21.