Our group is working to develop policies that will encourage employees to have their routine cancer screenings done.  We are working on an educational session regarding these screenings and we are having our insurance professional explain clearly the benefits that are provided to our employees.  Educational materials will be made available for the employees to share with their family and friends.

This is a reminder to all of our member physicians to get screened annually and make sure your family and friends are doing so as well.

The body is made up of hundreds of millions of living cells. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly way. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out, damaged, or dying cells.

Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer, but they all start because of this out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Cancer cell growth is different from normal cell growth. Instead of dying, cancer cells keep on growing and form new cancer cells. These cancer cells can grow into (invade) other tissues, something that normal cells cannot do. Being able to grow out of control and invade other tissues are what makes a cell a cancer cell.

Cancer of the cervix (also called cervical cancer) begins in the lining of the cervix. This cancer forms slowly. First, some cells begin to change from normal to pre-cancer and then to cancer. This can take many years, but sometimes it happens faster. These changes may be called dysplasia. They can be found by the Pap test and treated to prevent cancer.

A risk factor is anything that affects a person’s chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors, such as smoking, can be controlled. Others, like a person’s age or race, can’t be changed. But having a risk factor, or even several, does not mean that you will get the disease. Women without any risk factors rarely get cervical cancer. On the other hand, while these risk factors increase the odds of getting cervical cancer, many women with these risks do not get this disease.

In looking at risk factors, it helps to focus on those that can be changed. Still, those that can’t be changed also serve to remind women about the importance of getting a Pap test.

To learn more about cervical cancer, treatment and prevention, please visit the American Cancer Society website.

(Image from http://www.ghananewsagency.org)