As you put your 2017 New Year’s resolutions to practice, consider making a commitment that will benefit your health and happiness beyond the months ahead: resolve to talk to a health care professional about cancer prevention for you, your family, and friends. We all know someone who has suffered from cancer but fifty to sixty percent of cancer cases are preventable. And there are steps that need to be taken to protect yourself and those close to you. January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, a time to learn more about cervical cancer screening for yourself and vaccination for your kids.

There was a time when cervical cancer was one of the most common causes of cancer death for women in the United States, but the Pap test (which can detect precancerous conditions) has led to a dramatic decrease in incidence and death rates in the past 50 years. Although we have made progress, an estimated 12,820 American women will still be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,210 will die from the disease in 2017. In the state of West Virginia, an estimated 80 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year alone.

The primary cause of cervical cancer is Human papillomavirus (HPV). While not all types of HPV cause cancer and most infections clear themselves without treatment, certain types can develop into cancer and are responsible for more than 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. Despite this, a 2016 Prevent Cancer Foundation® study found that more than half of adults are unaware of the link between HPV and cancer. That is why it is so important to continually advance prevention efforts.

A vaccine against the virus is available and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends it for girls and boys beginning at age 11. (The vaccine is required in the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Virginia.) But only about 40 percent of adolescent girls and 20 percent of adolescent boys have received the previously recommended three doses. (The CDC recently changed recommendations to only two doses for those under age 15). If you are the parent of a preteen, talk to a health care professional to make sure they receive the doses on-schedule.

Other factors that can increase your risk of cervical cancer include having sex at an early age; having multiple sex partners; not having regular Pap tests; using birth control pills for a prolonged period of time; smoking; having human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); or having a close relative, such as a sister or mother, with cervical cancer. If you are at high risk or have a weakened immune system, talk to a health care professional to see if you should be screened more often.

Women should begin cervical cancer screenings at age 21, with a Pap test every three years until age 29, and a Pap test combined with an HPV test every five years from ages 30 to 65. If you are between the ages of 19 and 26 and have not received the HPV vaccine, it’s not too late. Since HPV can be transferred between partners–and since HPV also causes at least five other types of cancer–it’s critical for boys and young men to get vaccinated, too.

Symptoms usually don’t appear until cervical cancer has advanced. If you experience increased or unusual vaginal discharge, spotty or light bleeding other than during a normal period, longer or heavier menstrual bleeding, bleeding or pain during or after sex or bleeding after menopause, talk to a health care professional immediately.

We can reduce the number of cervical cancer cases by making sure we are informed about this disease and how to prevent it. To learn more, please visit www.preventcancer.org.

(Mary G. McKinley, RN, MSN, CCRN, is a critical care nurse and is the spouse of David B. McKinley, P.E. (WV-1) and is a member of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Statistics provided by the Prevent Cancer Foundation, American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)