Americaâ€™s Online Spreading Word About Cervical Cancer

As many as five thousand women die of cervical cancer in the U-S every year. But did you know that it's almost completely curable? Hereâ€™s what's being done to educate women on how to detect

Thursday, January 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

As many as five thousand women die of cervical cancer in the U-S every year. But did you know that it's almost completely curable? Hereâ€™s what's being done to educate women on how to detect this deadly disease.

The Internet is already becoming a valuable source of information for millions of people worldwide. Now one company is reaching through cyberspace to educate millions of women about a deadly disease. Through its vast membership, Americaâ€™s Online has the unique ability to spread the word fast. â€œThe goal of this campaign is to raise awareness that cervical cancer is a preventable cancer," said A-O-L Health Programming director, Vaishali Geib M.D.

A-O-L and health educators are hoping that at least 5 million women will log on to the special web site. Medical experts agree, education is key in preventing and curing the disease. â€œOver half of women who develop cervical in the U-S, have not had a Pap smear in the past three years,â€ said St. John Pathologist Dr. James Palmer M.D. â€œThe most important thing is to get the Pap smear." Dr. Palmer says that too many patients had to learn the hard way. â€œI had lapsed for three years in my screenings,â€ recalled Cervical Cancer survivor Barbara McGuire-Broderick. â€œThen I went back to find an abnormal pap result."

And those abnormal cells aren't easy to find. â€œThe simple difficulty is of a cytologist sitting at a microscope all day, looking at slide after slide,â€ said Dr. Palmer. â€œItâ€™s basically looking for a needle in a haystack." Think of it as a haystack with up to 300,000 cells per slide. That's why St. John Medical Center uses a system called Autopap to help cytologists narrow the scope of their search.

Autopap helps technicians to re-screen all normal pap smears, so that cervical cancer can be detected more reliably. But regardless of the technique women need to be screened for cervical cancer regularly. â€œThere is no need for any woman to die from cervical cancer,â€ Dr. Palmer said. â€œIt's important for early detection and education."

Education now anyone can get on the worldwide web. Doctors recommend that all sexually active women and all girls over the age of 17 get regular annual Pap smear tests.
For more information, go to http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org
Or if you're an A-O-L member, your keyword is Cervical Cancer.