Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Updated : February 10, 2017 7:02 PM IST
Hi,
I am a 23-year-old single woman living in Mumbai. Recently, my best friend went in for a Pap smear test for cervical cancer. Although I accompanied her to the clinic, I didn t get the test done myself. Since I am unmarried, I didn t think it necessary. However, my friend told me that all women have to get it done once they cross age 20. I am not entirely convinced since I have heard somewhere that only married women above age 30 are at risk for cervical cancer. Also, no one in my family had a history of cancer. Please help.
This query has been answered by Dr Nikhil S Parwate, Gynecological Onco-surgeon at SRV Hospital.
The notion that unmarried women are immune from contracting cervical cancer is a misconception. If you are sexually active, it is your responsibility to get yourself screened for cervical cancer. Your age or your marital status does not exempt you from it.
In countries like UK, New Zealand and Australia, women aged 25 and above are mandatorily screened for cancer. And in the Americas, the age for screening is as low as 21. In India, we face a variable urban-rural divide where a 30-year-old woman in the metros is unmarried, and a 20-year-old village girl visits a sterilisation centre. The point being age and marital status are not reliable parameters. Consider getting a pap smear once you become sexually active.
Cervical cancer also happens to be one of those cancers that are not inherited; it is an acquired cancer. It is caused by a virus called Human Papilloma Virus. There are 200 strains of these viruses some of which may be high potential varieties that cause cervical cancer. Men who are the biggest reservoirs of these viruses can also transfer them through mere skin-to-skin contact.
So ensure that you get yourself tested through a pap smear at the earliest. Here are the things you need to keep in mind about cervical cancer.
Read this in Marathi
Read this in Hindi.
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