WHAT WOMEN NEED TO KNOW.Byline: - Nicole Sunkes May is Women's Health Month, and the California Association for Nurse Practitioners wants to make sure women are informed patients when they visit the doctor. Nurse practitioner Mary Browne Dickens practices at Facey Medical Foundation in Northridge and clarifies some common misconceptions about women's health issues. --A traditional Pap smear will not identify a woman's risk for developing cervical cancer. Testing for Human Papilloma Virus human papilloma virus n. Abbr. HPV A DNA virus of the genus Papillomavirus, certain types of which cause cutaneous and genital warts in humans, including condyloma acuminatum. (HPV HPV human papillomavirus. HPV abbr. human papilloma virus Human papilloma virus (HPV) ), also known as genital warts, is a precursor to cervical cancer. A test for HPV will only be done on an abnormal Pap result, so be sure to ask your doctor to do a DNA test for the disease at your next Pap exam. Facey Medical Foundation automatically tests Pap smears for HPV. --Women who have had multiple sexual partners are not the only people who are at risk for the HPV. There are documented cases of virginal virginal, musical instrument: see spinet. virginal or virginals Small rectangular harpsichord with a single set of strings and a single manual. The derivation of its name is uncertain. women with the disease, although it is very rare. --A pelvic exam and Pap smear are not the same things. A Pap smear is a sample of cervical cells and a pelvic exam is a palpation palpation /pal·pa·tion/ (pal-pa´shun) the act of feeling with the hand; the application of the fingers with light pressure to the surface of the body for the purpose of determining the condition of the parts beneath in physical diagnosis. of the uterus, ovaries Ovaries The female sex organs that make eggs and female hormones. Mentioned in: Choriocarcinoma ovaries (ō´v and cervix. When you schedule your appointment, make sure to ask for a gynecological gynecological /gy·ne·co·log·i·cal/ (-kah-loj´i-k'l) gynecologic. exam, which includes breast, pelvic and Pap exams. --Your health-care provider WILL review your chart and remind you when you are due for an exam. --Breast cancer is not the No. 1 killer of women. Heart disease claims more lives each year than breast cancer. ``Women need to be knowledgeable about the risks that exist and not be misinformed,'' Browne Dickens said. ``For example, if women are so afraid of breast cancer that they ignore the signs and symptoms of heart disease, it will inhibit them from seeking treatment if they need it.'' --All health-care providers are not necessarily up to date on the latest women's health tests. The CANP CANP California Association of Naturopathic Physicians wants to make sure women are empowered when they make a doctor's visit, so cut this tip sheet out and take it with you to your appointment. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``Women need to be knowledgeable about the risks that exist and not be misinformed,'' says Northridge nurse practitioner Mary Browne Dickens. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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