It’s never too late to have yourself screened for cervical cancer. In fact, a new study featured on Science Daily notes that getting yourself tested until age 69 may protect yourself from the disease.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London led by Peter Sasieni examined how screening women aged 50 to 64 for cervical cancer could affect the development of the diseases in women aged 65 to 83.
The results showed that those who have not undergone cervical cancer screening past their 50s may be six times more at risk of being diagnosed with it than those who have been screened between the ages 54 and 64.
Although more research is needed, Sasieni and his team believe that regular screening may help lower positive diagnosis rates among older women.
“Screening up to age 65 years greatly reduces the risk of cervical cancer in the following decade, but the protection weakens with time and is substantially less 15 years after the last screen,” the authors explain.
There are many public and private health providers that are actively campaigning for cervical cancer screening. Contact your doctor for more information on how you can protect yourself from the disease.
(Photo by Sodanie Chea via Flickr Creative Commons)
