January is cervical health awareness month

I got a head's up from Lively Women that January is Cervical Health Awareness Month — Lively Women is urging you not to skip your annual pap test. According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, cervical screening saves lives, yet...

• "11% of United States women report that they do not have their Pap test screenings
• In the United States, About 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and about 3,700 women die in the USA each year from this disease.
• A woman who does not have her three shot prevention vaccine and her regular Pap test screen and HPV test when recommended, significantly increases her chances of developing cervical cancer.
• High-Risk HPV Types are directly related to cervical cancer, yet many women are unaware of what HPV is or the relationship it has to cervical cancer."

If you're a woman between the age of 35 and 50, you're at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. As women have babies at an older average age, screening is even more important. If you're planning on a baby one day, you don't want reproductive complications that may result from cervical cancer. If you're already a mama, your baby wants you around for a long time, so please get a test this January. If you don't have health insurance: Visit Women'sHealth.gov to learn about free or low-cost pap tests. the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) is sponsoring a nationwide, free Pap test day on January 14. The free Pap tests are available for any woman who has not had one within the last three years. NCCC is asking women to call their gynecologist to see if he or she is participating in the program. For more information visit NCCC.