HPV in “Older” Women

It seems as though they have decreased them some, but it wasn’t long ago that you couldn’t watch television without seeing commercials about the HPV Vaccine for our young girls, ages 9 – 26. But rarely do you hear anything about HPV and women over the age of 26, but there are measures that we need to take to protect ourselves also from cervical cancer. How? Early detection.

Women over the age of 30 need to be tested for HPV on a yearly basis.

Most of us are familiar with that yearly checkup.  We dread it, but (hopefully) we know how important it is and we have a yearly Pap test.  You’ll now find that research says that if your results come back normal,  it’s not necessary to test yearly. You should consult your doctor on this as my doctor still prefers to do these yearly.

But thanks to Mom Central and theHPVtest.com, I received some research educating me about what else we should be doing in addition to that pap test – The HPV test.

The test is conducted with the same cells that are gathered for the Pap Test so you really aren’t any more inconvenienced than you are now. The only catch is that most doctors do not test you by default – you must request digene HPV test along with your Pap smear.

If your tests, come out normal, as you could expect, you are good to go, but it’s also important to note that an abnormal test does not necessarily mean you have cervical cancer – it does mean that you need to be monitored more closely.

The site http://www.thehpvtest.com/ is a great resource for you to learn more about the digene HPV test and the importance of women over age 30 pushing for this test with their doctors. Curious if your insurance would cover the cost of this test? In addition to the facts about cervical cancer in women over 30 and details about the digene HPV test, you can also look up information about insurance.

It’s not just ourselves we need to care for either, but also our friends.  So on thehpvtest.com, you’ll find information for creating presentations to your friends, women’s group, or community as well as The Pearl of Wisdom Campaign.

If you are a woman over the age of 30, please take the time to learn more and the digene HPV test and do not be afraid to speak up at your next doctor appointment and ask for more than just a Pap smear. I turned 30 on my last birthday, and I have already made a note in my calendar that when I schedule my next appointment to talk to my doctor about it.  Together we can fight cervical cancer.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the QIAGEN digene HPV test. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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