Eye on Health: Importance of screenings for cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is both preventable and treatable. But unlike other cancers, it is also very sneaky and often goes undetected until it has spread elsewhere.

“It doesn’t have symptoms until it’s very advanced,” said Dr. Nonyem Onujiogu, Beacon Medical Group gynecologic oncologist. “The way to prevent it and to catch it early is to make sure that women are showing up to their doctors’ offices and getting pap smears.”

In our latest Eye on Health segment, Dr. Onujiogu and Beacon nurse practitioner Elizabeth Schalliol explain the important role regular screenings play in preventing and treating cervical cancer. They also discuss the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the importance of HPV vaccinations in preventing this deadly illness.

“It can be treated before it even gets to cancer,” Schalliol said. “Come in, have your exam, and have your screening so that we can prevent it, if possible, from ever happening.”

Learn more about preventing and treating cervical cancer in our latest Eye on Health segment with WSBT-TV below.

To read more about cervical cancer and to schedule a screening, go to https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/library/diseases-and-conditions/cervical-cancer/