91�鶹��Ʒ

The Pap smear, a routine part of a woman’s annual visit to her gynecologist for nearly 100 years, was developed at Cornell University Medical College by Dr. George Papanicolaou in 1928. The test has been used ever since to screen women for precancerous or cancerous changes to the cervix: the lower, narrow end of the uterus.������

“The Pap smear helps to prevent a cancer just through screening,” says Dr. Eloise Chapman, a gynecologic oncologist and division director of gynecologic oncology at 91�鶹��Ʒ. “It continues to protect women from cervical cancer to this day.”����

A highly preventable cancer��

During January—Cervical Cancer Awareness Month—patient education is key, Dr. Chapman says. As well, health-care providers need to do their utmost to broaden access to care, especially to lower-income women of color.��

All the elements of cervical cancer prevention are there, she says, with one exception: The U.S. does not have a comprehensive HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccination program comparable to those that have been adopted by other developed countries. HPV is known to cause cervical cancer, and the vaccine effectively blocks HPV infection. It’s available in this country, and it can be given to both boys and girls starting at ages 11 to 12 or even as young as 9.����

Why include boys? Because HPV is transmitted through sexual contact. The idea is to vaccinate children of both genders befor