WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs encourages all women veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system to get tested for cervical cancer.
Most women veterans are within the age range -- 21 to 65 -- when cervical cancer screening is recommended as part of a regular checkup, every one to three years.
Approximately 50 million U.S. women get pap smears every year to detect cervical cancer in its earliest stages. More than 90 percent of women can survive cervical cancer if it is localized and caught early. However, only 13 percent of women survive once cervical cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
The human Papilloma virus, the same virus that causes anal and genital warts, often causes cervical cancer. About 95 percent of women with cervical cancer have evidence of HPV.
Women who began sexual intercourse at a young age, have had multiple sexual partners, smoke cigarettes, have a diet low in vitamins A and C and use oral contraceptives, can increase their risk of cervical cancer.