Hispanic
women more prone to cervical cancer
By Ramzy Saleh
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Researchers report that from 1955-92 the number of cervical cancer deaths has
dropped in the United States by 74 percent. In addition, the rate has declined
by 2 percent every year.
“
That’s great news, and of course it’s due to increased Pap
tests,” said Camille Eroadawater-Hollifield, a clinical researcher working
in Southern California.
A Pap test checks cells taken from the walls of the cervix for pre-cancerous
abnormalities. The American Cancer Society recommends women get a Pap test every
year unless they have had three consecutive normal Pap test results in a row;
then it is recommended they get tested only every two to three years.
The increased frequency of women getting regular Pap tests has contributed to
the drop in cervical cancer deaths in the nation. If detected early, cervical
cancer has a 91 percentage cure rate.
But is this great news for Californians? The answer is yes and no. While the
risk of cancer in general is much less for persons of Hispanic or Asian/Pacific
Islander origin than it is for non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans, this
is not true for cervical cancer.
According to the data from California Facts and Figures 2004, published by the
American Cancer Society, Hispanic women have the highest risk of developing cervical
cancer, about twice as high as non-Hispanic whites.
This may explain why the 1996-97 survival rates for cervical cancer in California
are at 70 percent, virtually unchanged since 1988.
According to the data, 17 out of every 100,000 Hispanic women in California will
develop cervical cancer each year, almost triple the rate for white women, double
the rate for Asian/Pacific Islander women and almost double of those for black
women.
It is not surprising that the majority of cases of invasive cervical cancer are
present in Los Angeles and its surrounding counties. Out of the 617 cases of
cervical cancer diagnosis in California in 2000, 308 were in Los Angeles and
only 53 percent of those diagnosed were early detection.
California has one of the biggest Latino populations in the country, with a majority
residing in Los Angeles. This might explain why the death rate for cervical cancer
has not dropped in California as it has in the rest of the country.
Are Hispanic women predisposed for cervical cancer or are they just not getting
tested?
“ They are not getting tested,” Hollifield said. “In my experience
Latinos do not get screened for cervical cancer as much compared to other ethnicities.”
According to the American Journal of Health Behavior cultural beliefs play a
significant role in Hispanic women not getting tested. Modesty is valued in the
community and a gynecological exam is one that is seen by Latinos to be too intimate.
Finally issues of language proficiency and financial burdens influence Hispanics
decision to get tested.
Researchers and experts are on the case. Many studies are being done to see how
to promote health in the Hispanic communities,
especially women’s health.
Also, there is news of the development of a vaccine for the human Papillomavirus,
or HPV, one of the main risk factors for cervical cancer.
Early detection is the key to surviving this disease, and with recent studies
and scientific breakthroughs, California may see a significant drop in cervical
cancer deaths in the future just like the rest of the country.
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