September Is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month and the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) are launching a new campaign, “Know the Facts About Cervical Cancer Prevention,” to help women best protect themselves from this preventable disease.

Throughout September — and beyond — AMWA and NCWO will work through their members and the media to educate as many women as possible about age-appropriate cervical cancer prevention options, based on current clinical data and practice guidelines. AMWA represents nearly 14,000 women in medicine from all sub-specialties and female medical students in the United States; NCWO comprises more than 200 women’s organizations representing more than 11 million women nationwide.

“There have been exciting medical advances recently in cervical cancer prevention, from an FDA-approved test to detect the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, to a vaccine against HPV,” said Susan L. Ivey, MD, MHSA, immediate past president of AMWA. “We need to make sure that women’s knowledge about how to best protect themselves from cervical cancer keeps up with emerging standards of patient care.” AMWA recently released new cervical cancer prevention guidelines for its members.

   According to AMWA and NCWO, key points that women should know are:     — Girls aged 11 and 12 should get the HPV vaccine, and other girls and       women ages 9 through 26, or their parents if appropriate, should ask       their clinician about getting the HPV vaccine.    — All women should get regular Pap tests, beginning at age 21 or within       3 years of becoming sexually active, at a frequency recommended by       their clinician.    — Women age 30 and older should get an HPV test with their Pap test.    

“Women shouldn’t suffer or die from cervical cancer, since this disease is preventable,” said Susan Scanlan, chair of NCWO. “It’s important that women know the facts about the right cervical cancer options for them so that they can make informed healthcare decisions with their providers.”

The Pap test is the traditional tool for cervical cancer screening and is 50% to 85% accurate, depending upon the type of test used. Newer liquid-based Pap tests are more accurate than conventional methods. The HPV test is FDA-approved and identifies women with HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. When used with a Pap test in women aged 30 and older, the HPV test increases a clinician’s ability to identify women needing early intervention to 100%. An HPV vaccine was recently FDA-approved for girls and young women aged 9-26, and has been shown to be 100% effective — in women not previously infected — at preventing the two types of HPV that cause 70% of all cervical cancers. Another HPV vaccine is currently under FDA review.

“While the HPV vaccine is an exciting advance, screening remains vitally important to protect women who have been vaccinated against disease from high-risk HPV types not covered by vaccine, as well as women who have already had HPV infections. It’s also important for women who are too old for or who do not receive the HPV vaccine,” said Dr. Ivey.

More information on the Know the Facts About Cervical Cancer Prevention campaign, including a pass-along e-mail message, is available at http://www.amwa-doc.org/knowthefacts.

About Cervical Cancer

Worldwide, more than 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and more than 230,000 women die of this disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that this year, in the U.S. alone, 11,150 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3,670 women will die of the disease. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer are caused by “high-risk” types of HPV, a common sexually transmitted infection. While most HPV infections go away without treatment, the presence of HPV, particularly evidence of chronic infection with HPV, indicates increased vulnerability to cervical cancer and the need for adherence to a regular screening schedule.

About AMWA

Founded in 1915, the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is the oldest and largest multispecialty association of women physicians, residents and medical students. Today, AMWA represents a progressive community of professionals working to promote health and encourage the professional and personal development of those in medicine, healthcare and related fields. AMWA is the vision and voice of women in medicine promoting quality healthcare for women and their families. For more information, visit http://www.amwa-doc.org/.

About NCWO

Formed in 1983, NCWO is a nonpartisan, nonprofit umbrella organization of approximately 210 groups that collectively represent over eleven million women across the United States. NCWO members collaborate through substantive policy work and grass roots activism to address issues of concern to women, including workplace and economic equity, education and job training, affirmative action, Social Security, child care, reproductive freedom, health, and global progress for women’s equality. NCWO is the only national coalition of its kind. For more information, visit http://www.womensorganizations.org/.

American Medical Women’s Association

CONTACT: Tracy Morris of Tracy Morris Marketing and Communications,+1-650-473-1272, tracy@morrismarcom.com

Web site: http://www.amwa-doc.org/http://www.womensorganizations.org/