Thread: Why are women being told to forgo cervical cancer screenings

Why are women being told to forgo cervical cancer screenings?


By Kate Randall
WSWS
21 November 2009


Only days after a government panel recommended cutting back screenings for breast cancer, another body has advised that women undergo less frequent screenings for cervical cancer, and begin them at a later age. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published guidelines Friday recommending that women not have Pap smear screenings until age 21, and that the frequency of Pap smears be scaled back after that.

The Pap smear is a highly effective screening procedure that has been credited with reducing deaths from cervical cancer by more than 70 percent since its introduction 50 years ago. Through the collection of cells from the cervix and their examination for abnormalities, Pap smears can detect cancer at its earliest stages, when it is most easily treated. The American Cancer Society estimates that 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2009, and 4,070 women will die from the disease.

What, then, lies behind these new recommendations that will radically alter the administration of a screening test that has been proven to save the lives of tens of thousands of women in the US? Promoters of the new guidelines argue that they are “science-based.â€

Ladies, do not ignore this. My baby sister died from Stage IV Type B Cervical Cancer. Why? She quit getting checkups, and refused to go to the doctors. She was gone a month after her 42nd birthday. And at 44 years old at the time, I was the only one left from our little family of 4.

So please ignore these death supporting morons, and please ensure that your families will be able to enjoy your presence for many years to come, as mine for the rest of my days are mere memories now. It's not a good place to be. Trust me.