Women More Likely to Undergo Cervical Cancer Screening if Recommended by a Physician

Cervical Cancer and Women

The most common reason many women give to explain why they didn't receive regular Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer is that their doctors didn't recommend the test, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the May issue of the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

"Screening for cervical cancer is an important health issue. We are still losing too many lives because cervical cancer is preventable and curable, if detected early," said Steven S. Coughlin, PhD., CDC's division of cancer prevention and control and lead author of the study. "Increased physician recommendations could help to significantly increase Pap screenings in the United States."

This year there will be an estimated 10,370 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and about 3,710 women will die of the disease. Many of these deaths could be prevented if women received Pap tests regularly.

Through its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), CDC provides critical breast and cervical cancer screening services to medically underserved women in the United States.

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Additional information about CDC's efforts in the early detection of breast and cervical cancers is available at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/